Dragon Blood
by o Mischief Managed
Summary: Full Summary Inside. For three years, Jake Long has fought to protect the Magical World. But thanks to a mysterious curse, and a new foe, things are about to change, and Jake may find himself the ultimate cause of the downfall of both worlds... COMPLETE!
1. Prologue

First things first... New Summary!

**SUMMARY:**

Ever since he found out he was the American Dragon, Jake Long has fought with all he had to defend and protect the magical world. But now, three years later, with the coming of a new enemy, that is about to change. Thanks to a mysterious curse, Jake himself is becoming a danger to not only the magical world, but to his friends and family, and everyone around him. But that won't stop his newest foe from carrying out her devious plan. Will Jake be able to break the curse and stop this new adversary, or will he end up being the cause of the ultimate downfall of both worlds?

Yup, after a year of hard work, I'm finally back, and this story's better than ever! I have the entire outline done, so I know exactly what I'm doing. There aren't really many changes (yeah, the summary seems totally different, but the story itself hasn't changed...much...), but there are a few important things I need to mention:

**_IMPORTANT NOTES:_**

**1. _This story is now OFFICIALLY an AU._ **When I began writing this, The Hunted and the entire Season 2 had not aired yet, so the events in those eps are not included in this story. I know it'll be hard, but I must ask you to **_read this as if The Hunted and all of Season 2 has not happened!_ **Simply put, this takes place before The Hunted, but after Ski Trip (you'll see why later). The eps up to and including Keeping Shop don't really matter, so you don't have to totally disregard them.

**2. _This story takes place 3 YEARS in the future._ **Just like it says in the summary. Not that big of a deal, but I feel I should say this now. Also, just so you know, **_Jake and the_ _gang are 16 and Haley is 11._ **(I know you're probably all saying she should be 10, but just say she turned 11 a little early, kay?) Those are the only important ages I think... Also, any important information about the events of those three years will be covered in passing in the story.

I think that's it, other than the fact that I have changed a little bit of stuff in the first two chapters (well, this prologue and Ch. 1), so you may want to re-read them. Other than that, here's the very delayed return of my tale, Dragon Blood!

* * *

It was dark. The exact time was uncertain, but judging by the full moon hanging directly above the earth, it was around midnight. An eerie silence lingered in the air. It was as if nothing dared to move, to break the soundless wave the night poured down on the forest.

But then, a rustling sound could be heard in the distance. It was small at first, far away. But it got louder and louder. Something was heading toward the clearing.

All of a sudden, a woman burst through the trees. She crept to a shadowy part of the clearing, and stopped to catch her breath. She seemed to have been running from something. She sat there for a few minutes, looking around anxiously. For a short time, all was silent again. Until another rustling could be heard through the darkness. The woman immediately snapped her gaze to the direction of the sound. She stood slowly and walked backward, away from the dark curtain of trees.

As the rustling grew nearer, it was joined by angry cries and shouts. The woman kept retreating from the trees, away from the voices growing ever nearer.

But as she stepped into a patch of moonlight, it became apparent that she was hardly a woman at all. She, in fact, didn't even look human.

She had dark, scaly skin, and long, yellow fingernails. Her eyes were a haunting red, with black slits down the centers. Her clothes were ragged, as if she had been on the run for months. She also had a set of great, black, feathery wings protruding from her back. They were bent in odd shapes, as if someone had attempted to tear them out. But the one feature that made her the most horrifying was her hair. For instead of normal, human hair, protruding from her head were at least thirty grey and red live snakes, each hissing menacingly at the coming voices.

All of a sudden, the creature stopped. Firelight protruded from the trees, followed closely by a group of about twenty or thirty shouting men and women, all carrying various items. Some had pitchforks and spears, while others had burning torches. Sill others wielded crossbows or ropes. All, however, had dark, angry looks plastered on their faces.

"There she is!" one man at the front of the group shouted, pointing an accusing finger at the creature in the center of the clearing.

"Get her!" yelled a woman in the back. The creature immediately began running in the opposite direction, and the crowd chased after her with no delay. When she reached the edge of the trees, she didn't stop running, but shot a brief glance over her shoulder at the angry crowd before plunging into the darkness.

Deeper and deeper into the trees she ran, stumbling over fallen logs and outstretched roots. She was getting exhausted, her breath was short and rapid, but she did not stop.

All of a sudden, she slowed and stared in front of her. A gigantic fallen tree was barricading her path. She turned to her right, and saw that the trees were much too thick to make it through. She looked hopefully to her left, but saw no difference. She knew she was trapped.

The creature turned to face the group of people as they emerged through the trees. Some of them were still shouting at the creature before them. Many of them were snickering at her. All those with weapons had them pointed at her, ready to attack.

"Please," the creature began. "I-I did not mean any harm! I have done nothing to your village! Why do you continue to hunt me so?" Her voice was somewhat gruff and hoarse, as black tears began falling down her cheeks.

"You are a monster!" yelled a man at the front of the group, who seemed to be the leader. "You have frightened us and our children! You have stolen from our harvest—"

"—I had no food!" the creature shouted in protest. "I needed to feed my family!"

"No excuses! Your crimes cannot be forgiven! We have sentenced you to execution tonight! Now come with us kindly and we will not have to use force."

"No!" the creature shouted. She turned frantically, this way and that, but found no means of escape. She could not fly, due to her damaged wings, so she knew it was hopeless. She turned to face the villagers as they drew nearer, ready to strike…

"Pay attention, Mr. Long!"

"Huh? W-What?" Jake opened his eyes suddenly and lifted his head from his desk. He looked up groggily, and found himself face to face with Professor Rotwood. And he did not look happy.

"I understand that _some _may not be able to comprehend the fascinating and respectful subject of mythology, but still I warn you not to flaunt your ignorance by deciding to take a nice little nap in my classroom!"

Jake smiled feebly. "Heh heh…Sorry, Mr. Rotwood. Won't happen again."

"For the last time," Rotwood fumed. "It is PROFESSOR ROTWOOD!"

Jake smiled slightly again, and Rotwood turned and walked toward his desk. Jake turned to Trixie and Spud.

"Yo, why didn't you guys wake me up?"

"We tried to, Jakey," Trixie replied, as she and Spud suppressed laughter. "But with all that snorin'..."

"_Snoring?_" Jake flushed, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.

"Yeah," Spud added. "But still... The look on Rotwood's face when he saw you? It was priceless, bro."

Jake looked around the classroom and saw many other students trying hard not to laugh. He groaned and put a hand over his face.

"Now," Rotwood said from the front of the room. "Since we have all had our little laugh for today," he stopped and glared in Jake's direction, "I think it is time we get back to our lesson." A groan escaped the students, but Rotwood took no notice. "Now, where was I? Ah, yes, griffins. Ahem…As I was saying—" At that moment, the bell rang, and students began filing out of the classroom. "Mr. Long? A moment, please?" Jake stopped. He motioned for Trixie and Spud to go on ahead, and they left. He then turned to Rotwood.

"Because of your…lack of focus today," Rotwood began, "I am requiring you to join me in detention tomorrow afternoon."

"_Say what?_" Jake exclaimed angrily. "Detention? You can't gimme detention! I got, uh… stuff… to do after school!"

"You will stay after class tomorrow for two hours, whether you agree or not. I am sure that whatever you were planning can wait."

"Yeah, sure." Jake mumbled. "Saving the city can wait."

"Pardon?" Rotwood asked in a slightly accusatory tone.

"Oh, uh, nothing. I was just wondering… what I'm gonna be doing in detention…?

"I will decide when the time comes. One thing is for certain, however - you will _not be napping!_"

"Come on Mr.—Professor Rotwood," he changed the name after Rotwood shot him a warning glance. "Can't you just gimme, extra homework or something? Instead of detention?"

"Enough!" Rotwood shouted. "You will join me for detention tomorrow, and that is final! Now go. You will need enough rest if you are to stay awake during my class in the future."

Jake sighed and headed for the door.

"Oh, and Mr. Long," Rotwood began. Jake turned to face him. "One more thing. I will be phoning your parents in about, oh... thirty seconds. I believe they should know about your… disruptions in my class."

Jake gaped at Rotwood. "_What?_" Rotwood simply smiled at him. "Aww, _man_!"

* * *

Alright, prologue complete.

So, 'til next time, signing off.


	2. Plans

Alright, only a few changes in this chapter.

* * *

After his chat with Professor Rotwood, Jake had caught up with Trixie and Spud. The three of them were now heading for the skate park, and Jake was explaining to his two friends what Rotwood had said.

"He gave you detention?" Trixie asked after Jake had finished. "But what about… you know… the dragon thing?"

Jake just shrugged. "I know. But I couldn't exactly tell him I can't do detention 'cause I'll be busy training as the American Dragon, could I?" He sighed. "Guess I'll just have to go," he decided, yawning widely.

"Yo, Jake," Trixie said. "Why you so tired, anyway?"

"I was out all night guarding a bunch of unicorns. Fu got word the Huntsclan was after them, so they sent me to keep watch. Of course, nothing happened. So I got detention for no reason at all."

As they walked on in silence, Jake's mind wandered back to the dream he'd had in Professor Rotwood's class. It was definitely an unusual dream, to say the least. In most of his dreams, Jake was usually interactive, a part of the events taking place. In this one, however, it had been as if he was simply observing the scene from the sidelines, almost like watching a movie. But it had felt so real, as if it was actually happening. And that creature… He had been sure he'd seen something like it once before, but he couldn't quite place it. In the end, he just decided he'd ask Grandpa and Fu Dog about it later on.

When the three friends arrived at the park, they stayed for an hour and a half, before Jake decided he'd better go home and face his parents. He said goodbye to Trixie and Spud, and started walking toward his house.

When he reached the front door, he hesitated a moment. Professor Rotwood was sure to have notified his parents by now, Jake was sure of it. But as he stood in front of the door, he knew he'd have to get it over with sooner or later. So he took a deep breath, and turned the handle, pushing the door open.

The moment Jake stepped into the house, he was face to face with his mother, and she did not look pleased to see him.

"Detention?" she shouted as Jake closed the front door behind him. "You got _detention?_ For falling asleep in class?"

"I-It wasn't my fault!" Jake replied hastily, attempting to side-step around his mother. "I was up all night with dragon stuff! I didn't get back 'til 6 a.m.!"

"That's no excuse! If you'd been paying attention to your teacher, it would've been easier to stay awake!"

"Have you ever tried listening to Rotwood's 40-minute lectures on mythology? Which are totally wacked, by the way. He wouldn't know a magical creature if it danced in front of his face singing the Hubba Hubba Hula."

"That's beside the point, but we'll finish this discussion later. You grandfather called. He says he wants to talk to you, so—"

"Thanks-Mom-catch-you-later-bye!" Jake shot out in one breath. He then turned and hurtled back out the front door, before his mother could get another word in.

When Jake arrived at the shop, he let himself in and headed for the back room.

"Gramps?" he called.

"Back here, kid," Fu Dog answered from the back. Jake went back and found them sorting and arrangement of old books onto shelves. "Just fixin' the place up a bit," Fu Dog elaborated when he saw Jake in the doorway.

"Yo, G, why the 911?"

"I hear you have detention tomorrow," Lao Shi said calmly.

"Oh," Jake replied, looking at the ground. "Yeah."

"And this is the reason I have asked you here today." Jake looked up at him. "We are going to train double today in order to make up for the time you will miss tomorrow."

Jake sighed, but didn't complain. He followed his grandfather and Fu Dog to the roof to begin training.

-0-0-0-0-0-

After a few hours, Jake, Lao Shi, and Fu Dog made their way back to the back room of the shop. Jake was thinking about that dream again, and he figured now was as good a time as any to ask about it.

"Hey, guys?" he began when they reached the room. "I got a question."

"Sure, kid," Fu Dog replied. "Shoot."

"Well, it's about this dream I had…" So he told them about the main points of the dream, mainly the strange creature he'd seen. When he finished, he asked if they knew what the creature might be.

"I believe the creature you saw," Lao Shi began, "was a gorgon."

"A… gorgon?" Jake repeated.

"Gorgons are demon creatures," Fu Dog explained, flipping through a book on ancient mythical creatures, and stopping on a page in the middle. "They have scaly skin, wings, and live snakes for hair. They come from the three original Gorgon sisters, Euryale, Sthenno, and Medusa. Some were so powerful, that anyone who saw their face was instantly turned to stone."

"Wow," Jake said, wide-eyed.

"Yeah. Dangerous. They're even said to guard the entrance to the underworld."

"So, the thing I saw… was a… gorgon?"

"It seems so," Lao Shi replied. "But it is believed that they have been extinct for quite some time."

"Yeah," Jake answered uncertainly. Extinct or not, he still couldn't shake the feeling that something big was about to happen - something sinister. And it had something to do with this particular creature.

-0-0-0-0-0-

"I think that's the last of them, Dad."

A girl about sixteen years old had been helping her father unpack their boxes from the moving truck. She set her box down on the kitchen table, and watched as her father emerged through the front door, struggling to see around the large box he was carrying.

"Yup," he answered his daughter, setting the box on the table. "The movers just left, and we are now officially moved in. All we need to do now is…" he looked around somewhat gloomily, "unpack."

The girl put a comforting hand on her father's shoulder. "Don't worry," she said consolingly. "I'm sure we'll feel right at home in no time." She smiled at him. "Well, I'm gonna go start unpacking my room. See ya later." She walked to the corner of the room and picked up a box marked _Ebony's Room, _and carried it upstairs.

She had chosen her room about a week ago, when she and her father had toured the house, so she knew exactly where she was going.

When Ebony reached her new room, she went inside and placed the box on the bed (the furniture were the first things they'd put in the house). She then sat down next to it and began going through its contents.

The first thing she pulled out of the box was a small pink book with a gold lock. On the front, in elaborate gold letters, was written _My Diary. _

Ebony reached around the back of her neck and unhooked her necklace. She held it out in front of her, showing a tiny golden key hanging from the chain. She grabbed the key and used it to unlock the diary.

After flipping to a blank page, she pulled a pen from a pocket on the inside back cover of the diary, and began to write.

_9/7_

_Hey there. Ebony here. Well, Dad and I are finally moved in. it's been a tough for us the past week…Well, actually, it's been tough for us ever since Mom...disappeared. This is now the thirteenth home we've had since then. But I have a feeling this'll be our last move. 'Cause between you and me, I get my final ingredient here in New York City. All our waiting is finally going to pay off. And all my hard work, too. But I'm gonna need help getting this ingredient. It's okay, though. I think I have a plan. See, I heard of this hunting group, and I'm pretty sure they'll be able to help me find what I'm looking for._

_Well, I really better start unpacking. 'Til my next entry!_

_Ebony_

-0-0-0-0-0-

A little while later, Ebony had unpacked most of her belongings, so she decided to go back downstairs and see how her dad was doing.

When she reached the living room, she saw her dad had decided to start painting. Already, three and a half walls were painted a deep, warm red. It was really looking nice.

"Hey, Dad," Ebony said cheerfully, walking up to the foot of his ladder.

"Hey, Eb," he answered, smiling at her. "How's it looking?"

"Great!" she replied, surveying the room. "Need any help?"

"Sure," he said, beaming. "Grab a brush."

They spent about half an hour finishing up the living room, before moving on to the kitchen.

"So, Eb," her father began, "I signed you up to start school in a few days. Excited?"

Ebony sighed. "I guess." They had moved around so much lately, she had gotten used to new schools. Her father put a hand on her shoulder.

"I know there have been a lot of moves lately, but I still think we should try and make the best of it. Besides, I have a feeling we'll be staying here for a long time."

Ebony smiled. "Yeah," she replied, thinking to herself. "Me too."

* * *

Chapter one is finito. The only big change here is, well, the girl's name.

Adios!


	3. Propositions

Chapter 3 here. And as a fair warning, my writing style has changed a good bit in the past year, so from here on out will be written slightly differently than the first two chapters. But don't worry. I think my current style is better, so it'll be a better read. But hey, don't take my word for it. Read on!

* * *

"Three… Two… One… Go!"

Ebony and her father each grabbed an item out of their moving boxes and bolted off in opposite directions, searching for its perfect place. Ebony raced into the living room and neatly placed the heavy, painted music box she was carrying in the center of the looming, old-fashioned fireplace. She then turned on her heel and sprinted back to the kitchen for another item. She ended up grabbing an ornate, golden candelabrum and quickly headed for the dining room, just as her father was reentering the kitchen from the den. The routine was repeated for about twelve minutes, until…

"Game! I win… again!"

Ebony's father walked grudgingly into the kitchen and stood beside his still half full box. He gazed at his daughter, who was beaming at him from a few feet away, her now empty box lying on its side.

"Wow, and in record time, too," Ebony's father stated appreciatively. "You just get faster and faster every time we play."

"Yeah, well," she laughed, "I've had a lot of practice, you know."

Her father smiled, sitting down in one of the kitchen chairs. "Whew," he sighed. "So, wanna tackle the garage next, or wait 'til tomorrow?"

Ebony looked at the kitchen clock. It was almost seven. "Actually, Dad, I kind of wanted to go take a walk before nightfall. You know, check out the neighborhood."

The man frowned, also looking at the clock, but then smiled. "Sure, good idea. Go ahead." He then grew serious. "Just make sure you're back before sundown."

His daughter nodded. "Don't worry, Dad. I'll be careful." She turned to go, then paused. "I just need to go grab something from my room first." With that, she sprinted up the stairs, returning several seconds later carrying a white envelope. "Later, Dad!" she called, hurrying out the door before her confused father could say another word.

Once outside, Ebony slowed to a leisurely pace, thinking to herself. She hated lying to her dad; he was the only person with whom she shared any form of a mutually trusting relationship. After all, she had no real intention of "checking out the neighborhood" at all, but she couldn't tell her father the truth. She needed to wait until the time was right, if she'd ever tell him at all… But that wasn't important at the moment. Ebony knew exactly where she was headed, and she didn't want to waste any more time.

As Ebony stood on the doorstep in front of the dark house, she ran through her plan again in her head. A lot depended on impact of the envelope she now held in her hands, but she was confident it all would work out. Thoughts concluded, she took a deep breath, set the envelope down in front of the large, oak door, knocked twice, and ducked away out of sight. A few seconds later, a silhouetted figure opened the door slowly and stepped out. Ebony watched with satisfaction as the figure spotted the envelope, picked it up, and retreated inside.

Ebony smiled deviously. _Phase one complete, _she thought. _Now to get home before dark…_

-0-0-0-

"I am truly sorry, Uncle. It won't happen again."

"No, it won't." The man turned to face his niece, his cold eyes piercing through the sinister mask shrouding his features. "Three years it's been since he first challenged our numbers. _Three years!_" He slammed a fist into the table, making the teen standing near him jump. "And still he continues to evade our grasp! I have slain numerous dragons in my time, and yet never have I met one as slippery as the American Dragon!" He pounded his fist into the table again, this time leaving a small dent in it. His niece looked at him nervously.

"Uncle, do not worry. We will slay him yet, but all in good time. All we need is the right opportunity."

At that exact moment, they heard two sharp knocks on the front door. The girl looked over her shoulder briefly, then back to her uncle, a questioning look on her face. He gave a slight, curt nod, signaling her to see who was bothering them at this time of evening, before resting his head wearily on his hand. She gave a slight bow, then headed for the door. She opened it slowly, only to find no one was there. Confused, and a little annoyed, she was about to go back inside, when she noticed a plain, white envelope lying on the ground in front of the door. Curious, she picked it up and headed back inside.

"Who was it?" her uncle asked, not lifting his head from his hand.

"No one," she replied in a puzzled tone. "But I found this." He looked up as she held the envelope out to him. He took it slowly, slightly suspicious, and examined it carefully. Seeing nothing incriminating on the outside, he lifted the seal and removed a folded piece of paper, unfolding it along the way.

"It's a letter," he observed, and began to read aloud:

_I know this may seem a very suspicious way to present a proposition, but I must ask you to at least read the whole way through. And yes, you read right. I have a proposition for you. I have heard many things about your skills in capturing dragons, and have decided to come to you for help. Now before you say no, know this: if you help me, I can certainly make it worth your while. You see, my skills lie not in field execution, but in behind-the-scenes magic. Yes, magic. I pride myself in my mastery of the black arts of potions and spell-casting. In a certain manner, I am a witch. But I am not like incapable humans. I have a greater source of power, a source which I cannot divulge to you on these terms. But on my honor, I can get you just about anything you want. All I ask is your help in capturing a dragon. If you would like to consider this proposition, please do so, and if you wish to go over details before making a decision, I ask that you meet me tomorrow night at 7:00 p.m. in Central Park. There, we can discuss your reward, and hopefully make a deal. I hope to see you then._

They read the letter through a few more times after, just to make sure they had read right. Someone wanted their _help? _In capturing a _dragon? _

"What do you make of this?" the man asked his niece, silently analyzing the request in his own mind.

"Well," she began slowly, clearly thinking hard. "It seems a little strange… What would someone want with a _dragon?_"

"I wonder…" he mused.

"Uncle, if I may…?" He inclined his head, giving her the go-ahead. "Well, if we play our cards right, we could use this as the perfect opportunity to finally capture the American Dragon."

Her uncle looked up, interested. "Go on."

"Whoever wrote this letter seems confident in his or her abilities, and, if speaking true, could be a valuable asset to our cause. We could work with this person, for the time being, and use them to boost our own power, making us unstoppable. This way, when we help this person capture the dragon, we will be left with the perfect opportunity to slay it."

"…And this 'witch' will be left with nothing." The man smiled maliciously. "I like it. Well done, Huntsgirl."

Huntsgirl bowed again. "Thank you, Huntsmaster."

Huntsmaster stood. "Now, we have work to do. Let us prepare." He gestured to the bookcase on the far wall, and Huntsgirl strode over to it. She removed a large, leather-bound book, and a portion of the wall slid open to reveal a long, descending stone staircase. "Be celebrant, Huntsgirl, for you are now one step closer to fulfilling your destiny." He laughed evilly, the sounds seeming to come from the empty nothingness beneath the darkness enshrouding his face. He stepped through the doorway into the stone stairwell, his laughs echoing off the high walls as he faded into the darkness. Huntsgirl watched, a dark smile spreading across her own masked features at the thought of finally slaying the dragon that had, for three years, caused her and her uncle so many troubles. Replacing the leather book carefully, she descended slowly into the darkness.

* * *

Yeah, short chapter, I know. But I had to end it here. Others will be longer, don't worry. And no, I don't know how long this story's gonna be yet. Oh well.

Lata ;)


	4. Complications

Chapter 4! Oh, and just as a note, I know the gang would be in high school now and wouldn't have Rotwood as a teacher, but frankly, Rotwood's more fun to write about and I really didn't feel much like making up a new teacher. We'll say he's like Mr. Feeny and just follows the main gang wherever they go, haha.

* * *

_RRRIIIIINNNNGGGG_

At the sound of the long-anticipated final bell, the students immediately grabbed their things and darted out of the classroom. Jake, however, reluctantly stayed seated, contemplating what form of seemingly-endless torture Rotwood could possibly be cooking up for him to endure during his detention. Trixie and Spud gave Jake one last hopeless glance, as if futilely wishing him luck, before also heading out the classroom door.

As the room finally emptied, Rotwood stood and strode over to a bookshelf in the back of the room. Jake watched him struggle with a particularly large, old-looking volume containing that which he could only speculate. With apparent difficulty, the teacher lugged the gigantic tome over to Jake and slammed it down on the desk in front of him, causing the confused student to jump slightly.

"What's this?" Jake asked curiously.

"_This_," Rotwood explained in a condescending tone, "is the extremely valuable and much-sought-after _History of Mythology. _It is the epitome of all things mythological, and contains everything you will ever want or need to know about magical and/or mythological creatures, spells, and other forbidden dark arts, and this very copy is one of the only remaining three in the entire world." Jake had a fleeting thought of whether or not this book was where Rotwood learned all he 'knows' about magical creatures. If so, then it needed a bit of an update. "Being as valuable as it is," Rotwood continued, lathering in his superiority in the fact that he had something his colleagues didn't, "many have, naturally, wished to purchase it from me. I, of course, have had to refuse, but, being the generous man that I am, I've offered to have the information in its pages copied and sold to them for a slightly lower cost. And that," he snapped, his voice returning to its usual manner as he glared down at the student before him, "is why you are here. You will spend the next two hours copying down every single word from this book onto separate paper."

Jake stared, shocked. "_What? _You gotta be—"

"_And you will NOT complain!" _the teacher finished, slamming a small stack of off-white parchment-paper on the desk and turning to walk brusquely back to his seat at the front of the room.

Jake grumbled unhappily, pulling the heavy book forward and opening it to the first page. On the inside front cover was a ridiculously long table of contents. Jake quickly scanned the alphabetical list, finding that most of the creatures he had never even heard of. Deciding not to waste time, he quickly flipped through the introduction and came to a halt at the _A _section. Jake groaned again. _This is gonna be a long two hours…_

After about one hour and forty-five minutes, Jake had only gotten through letters _A _through _F, _and some of the _G _section, and his hand was currently feeling as though it was ready to fall off from overexertion. He wasn't about to say a word, though; he knew Rotwood would just give him even more work to do. Instead, having just finished a particularly long entry, he turned the thick page slowly, ready to move on. He instantly forgot his previous troubles at that moment, however, at the sight of the title of the next creature entry: _Gorgons. _Also, to his surprise, there was a small, folded piece of paper stuck in the margin of the page. Jake thought briefly about notifying Rotwood, but decided against it. He was curious, after all. So, very discreetly, he picked up the piece of paper and unfolded it under the table, so as not to alert his teacher. Upon opening the small scrap of paper, Jake was surprised to see an old newspaper clipping, dated at about fourteen years ago. But what really startled Jake was the headline: _Snake-haired criminal captured outside local village. _Above it was a vivid picture of the exact gorgon from his dream the previous day.

Jake looked up briefly at Rotwood to make sure he wasn't watching, then eagerly returned his eyes to the clipping. He began reading the article, growing more and more unnerved at each word. The account of the creature's capture was described with detail, exactly how Jake had seen it in his dream. Apparently, the gorgon had been stealing from the town supplies, to feed her family, so she claimed. Of course the authorities didn't listen to her, and arrested her anyway. She tried to run later, but was accidentally shot and killed.

This new knowledge shocked Jake, to say the least. The event in his dream had actually happened? He didn't think it was possible. _No way…_ he mused silently, a look of disbelief on his face. _So now I'm… psychic or something? But no, I saw what happened in the _past_... That's different… _Try as hard as he could, he couldn't wrap his mind around a logical solution to this unexpected conundrum.

"Mr. Long!" Rotwood snapped suddenly, bringing Jake abruptly back to reality. Realizing he had been staring at the article under the table for an indefinite period of time, he quickly shoved it into his pocket, hoping Rotwood hadn't noticed it. The sudden movement aroused some suspicion on the teacher's part, however, as his eyes narrowed in distaste. "Have you finished copying the book?"

Jake fidgeted uncomfortably. "No…"

Rotwood smirked. "Then it seems you will have to come back tomorrow, and each day following until you do."

Jake stood up suddenly, knocking his chair over backwards. Rotwood glared at him. "Say _what? _No way! I _can't _come back here every day! I'm… too busy with… other stuff!" Jake realized hopelessly that without a valid excuse, which he knew he couldn't give, his cause was sadly doomed.

"'Busy'?" Rotwood repeated in a tone dripping with sarcastic bitterness. "Well, I'm sorry to say that you will just have to _make _time for your other… activities." He paused. "Unless, of course, you'd like to tell me what you _really _have planned…?" he finished with an accusatory tone.

Jake sighed in defeat. "I'll be here."

The teacher smiled maliciously, though he still looked slightly disappointed. "Good. You may go. I will see you tomorrow at class."

Not wanting to go home and face his parents with this news, but at the same time wanting even less to remain in Rotwood's prison, Jake packed up his things hurriedly, constantly aware of the arrogant teacher's hawk-like eyes watching his every move, and headed swiftly out the door.

-0-0-0-

"You know, no matter how hard I try, these things never really do come clean."

Ebony laughed lightly at her father's futile attempts to rub a particularly stubborn stain off of one of their off-white dinner plates, the origin of which was unknown. "That's because you're not doing it right," she said playfully, taking the plate and wash cloth from his hand. "You've gotta rub in a back-and-forth motion, not a circular one." He rolled is eyes as she demonstrated. "It helps to use your fingernails, too."

Her father smiled. "Well, if you're so good at washing dishes, it can be your job from now on." In mock-fear, Ebony quickly set down the dish.

"That's okay, Dad. I think you were doing a wonderful job!" They both laughed as the older man picked up the plate and cloth again and scrubbed the stain as his daughter had said. She instead resumed the act of returning the clean dishes to their rightful place. When they finished, they sat down at the kitchen table together.

"Dad?" Ebony began. He looked over to her. "I was thinking of going on another walk tonight. You don't mind if I leave for a bit, do you?"

He smiled. "Of course not, Eb. In fact, I think I'll come with you." He started to rise, but Ebony jumped up faster.

"No!" she shouted suddenly, earning a confused look from her father. "I mean…" she tried to think of an excuse. "I, er… met a girl my age up the street yesterday and I… said I'd meet her at the park tonight." It wasn't a total lie; it just wasn't the _whole _truth.

Her father's confused look changed to one of pleased happiness. "You did? That's great, Ebony! A new friend on the first day in a new neighborhood? Wow. You go ahead. I'll stay here and work on painting upstairs."

Ebony sighed in relief. "Thanks, Dad. I'll see you later!" With that, she grabbed a black coat from the closet and headed out the door.

-0-0-0-

"It's past seven o'clock. How long must we wait?"

"Don't worry, Uncle. I'm sure the sender will be here."

The two annoyed Huntsclan members had arrived at the required destination at seven o'clock sharp, but their mysterious host had not been their. It was now almost seven thirty, and they where still the only ones there. The Huntsman was currently contemplating leaving, when a dark, hooded figure stepped out from the shadow beneath a tree.

"Who are you?" the hunter asked forcefully, pulling out his staff and readying for attack. The figure simply put up a hand.

"There's no need for that. I do not wish to harm you." The voice that spoke from beneath the hood was decidedly female, and probably no older then Huntsgirl. "I only wish to negotiate, as my letter said."

"Yes, but still I am no fool," the Huntsman replied, not lowering his weapon. "You understand."

The girl chuckled. "Of course," she replied in a humored tone. "Now, to business. You know what it is I want. The question is, what will you ask for in return for your services?"

The two Huntsclan members looked at each other briefly, then to their host. "Power."

"'Power'?" she repeated. "I'm afraid you'll have to be a little more specific."

The Huntsman thought about it. "You want our services, correct?" The girl remained silent. "Then you must pay our price. We want power, plain and simple. If you are incapable, then I'm afraid you will simply have to find someone else to help you." He turned to leave, knowing his answer would cause some sort of spark in their 'client'.

"_No!_" she shouted, her voice momentarily becoming hoarse and deep. The two hunters looked at her, alarmed, as she shot a seemingly anxious glance at the now setting sun. "I can help you, but I have only little time to talk. There is a book I will require, perhaps you've heard of it, _History of Mythology. _I know for a fact a copy resides in this very city, and when I obtain it I will have a better idea of what exactly I can do for you. Now, I expect you know of a dragon we can find…?"

The hunters looked at each other again, wicked grins spreading across their faces. "We do," the Huntsman replied, mind spinning with excited thoughts, but expression passive. "Tell me, have you ever heard of the American Dragon?"

* * *

BUM BUM BUUUUUUM! (ahem) Well, another short chapter, I know. But hey, this way they come faster, right? Yeah…

Lata much


	5. Meetings

And here's Chapter 5. Thanks to Yourss Truly and Kayla for reviewing, cause I forgot to say so earlier. I really do appreciate you taking the time to read this. I did put a lot of hard work into it, after all (hence the whole year-long absence thing…). Erm…I don't think I have anything else important to say, so I'll just shut up and get to the story.

* * *

_The Griffin is a mythological creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. The egg-laying habits of the female were first clearly described by…_

After only about ten minutes of copying data from Rotwood's _History of Mythology, _Jake had had enough. He didn't think he could take much more of this. He threw down his pen and pushed his chair backward, wanting more than anything to get as far away from that ridiculous book as possible. Unfortunately, this profound action caused Rotwood to glance up and glare in Jake's direction. Jake smiled sheepishly.

"Mr. Long," Rotwood began in a tone of forced patience, removing his glasses and closing his eyes, "I understand you do not find the subject of mythology as intriguing as most, as you made apparent in class two days ago," he paused to open his eyes and glare harshly in Jake's direction, "but you are still under my control for the next," he glanced at the clock, "hour and forty-five minutes, and I ask that you please, DO AS I SAY!" Jake jumped violently as the teacher's voice suddenly rose to a shout he would classify as loud even for Rotwood's standards. He didn't say a word, for fear of inflicting upon himself the peak of the teacher's wrath, as he quickly pulled his chair back up to the desk and resumed copying the passage on griffins, wondering all the while what exactly he'd initially done to draw out Rotwood's specific hateful attention.

-0-0-0-

Ebony walked silently down the empty halls of the local high school she would soon be attending. It was 3:34 p.m.; all the students and most of the teachers had left, but Ebony knew for a fact that the one teacher she was seeking out would be there. She had asked around and found out that he rarely left before four o'clock, plus he was serving detention with a student on that particular day. Ebony knew that an extra person in the room would probably make obtaining that book a bit more awkward and difficult, but she'd manage. After all, she needed it as soon as possible.

As her thoughts ended, she came to a halt in front of a tightly shut classroom door. Her eyes rested on the bold number 113 near the top, and she knew this was the place. Quickly reciting her plan in her head one last time, she knocked twice and entered. In the room were two people; one, the teacher whom she had been looking for; the other, a boy about her age, with black hair that had a strange greenish tint to it, sitting in one of the desks toward the back of the room. A thick book rested on the table in front of him; his head was bent low over a piece of paper on which he was hastily scrawling something down, so she couldn't see his face. He didn't seem to notice her entrance.

"Ahem."

The sudden cough brought Ebony abruptly out of her thoughts, and she turned to look in the direction from whence it sounded. A stout, brainy-looking, man was sitting behind the front desk, which was cluttered with various books, papers, and writing utensils. He wore a tattered brown suit, a monocle over one eye, and a very annoyed expression.

"And who might _you _be?" he asked snappishly in a strong German accent, raising an eyebrow expectantly. This caught the attention of the boy in the back of the room, and he looked up suddenly. Upon finally setting eyes on his face, Ebony made an immediate observation that he was quite likely one of the cutest boys she had ever seen. It was true that she never had time to really get to know many people her age, considering how often she and her dad had moved around, but there was just something about this boy that made Ebony feel as though she already knew so much about him. The confused and questioning glance he had fixed on her showed her that he was inquisitive, and always had to have answers, had to know what was going on. The way he was dressed, coupled with the manner in which his work was spread across his desk and various papers were sticking out of his open backpack, told her he was very laid-back and unorganized. The visible end of a skateboard also protruding from his open backpack told her he was most likely athletic, and didn't like riding the bus to and from school. Most of all, the fact that he was simply here for detention in the first place could mean one of two things: he either had little regard for the rules, or the teacher just plain didn't like him. The more Ebony analyzed the teenager staring inquisitively back at her, the more she found herself wanting to really get to know him.

"_Hello?_" came the teacher's brusque, accented voice again. "Miss? I asked you a question. Who are you and why are you disrupting my student's punishment?"

Ebony turned quickly back to the man at the front desk, shaking old thoughts from her mind and focusing her attention on him. "Um… Hi," she began lamely, before regaining her composure. "My name is Ebony Gray." She walked over to the desk and shook his hand vigorously. The teacher looked slightly confused at the gesture. Ebony gazed briefly at the boy in the back and saw him arch his eyebrows and snicker slightly. Apparently the man wasn't greeted like this too often. "I just moved here, and I'll be attending this school soon. Are you Professor Rotwood?" The teacher froze momentarily, then broke into a wide grin, assuring Ebony that she was on the right track.

"Why, yes!" he exclaimed happily, standing and shaking her hand in return. "I am _Professor _Hans Rotwood, genius on all things mythological." Ebony took note of the emphasis on the way he said 'professor', and the way he glared at the teenage boy as he said it.

"Great!" Ebony began in an over-enthused tone, beaming broadly at the teacher. "I've heard a lot about your expertise in the subject of mythology, and knew I had to come to see you for myself."

Rotwood raised his eyebrows in surprise, but quickly covered with a boastful glance at the ceiling. "Yes, yes, I am credited far and wide for my incredible genius." At this, Ebony was sure she saw the boy roll his eyes mockingly. Apparently, so did Rotwood. "I saw that, Mr. Long." The boy flinched slightly. He looked about to say something, but the teacher cut him off. "I would appreciate it if you would kindly get back to work," he said in a tone that was anything but kind. The teen got the message, and returned to hover over the large book and numerous papers, though Ebony could tell he was still straining to hear their conversation. Rotwood turned calmly back to face her. "Now, is there… anything I can help you with?"

"Actually, yes," Ebony answered. "You see, I'm a huge fan of Greek mythology. It's like, my passion," she went on, delighting in the look on Rotwood's face. "I came here looking for something, and I hoped you could help me…?"

Rotwood grinned. "Of course, of course. You've come to the right place, miss. What is it that you need?"

"Well," Ebony began, choosing her words carefully. "I'm looking for a book, a very old and very rare one. It's called _History of Mythology, _and I heard you might have a copy here…?"

Rotwood frowned, seemingly thinking to himself. He then narrowed his eyes at her. "Who sent you here? Was it Professor Mikhail from the Gregorian Institute? Oh, he's been trying to get his hands on my copy of _History of Mythology _for years! It seems he's finally stooped so low as to—"

"No, no!" Ebony interrupted, having expected some reaction like this. "No one sent me. I'm telling the truth. And I'm only asking to borrow the book, for a week or so. You'll have it back after that, still in perfect condition, I promise." She placed her hand over her heart for effect.

He considered this silently for a moment, before glancing suspiciously at her. "You promise to return it? Still in good condition?"

"Of course." She smiled reassuringly.

He paused, then smiled. "Alright. One week."

She grinned. "Thank you so much, Professor!"

"I am always willing to help out a true mythology-lover like myself." He then turned a scornful eye on the boy in the back of the room. "Mr. Long!" he shouted. The student looked up suddenly. "Would you bring that book to me, please?" Though interrogative, it wasn't a question. The boy nodded and rose from his chair. Ebony watched his every move with hidden interest, thinking to herself. He seemed to struggle with the huge book at first, and almost dropped it as he grabbed it off the table. "_Carefully!" _Rotwood cried shrilly. The warning fell on deaf ears, however, as the boy caught the book with perfect agility just before it hit the ground, which only caused Ebony's interest in him to elevate further.

He walked carefully to the front desk and dropped the large volume on a stack of papers, causing them to crumple slightly under its weight. Rotwood glared daggers at the boy, who simply smiled in mock-politeness. The teen looked about to say something, but again the teacher cut him off by turning to Ebony.

"Here is the book; I was having Mr. Long here copy down the passages to sell to some colleagues of mine, but that can wait. Do you need help taking it home?" The student glared at Rotwood, as if saying 'Why aren't you ever this nice to me, or anyone for that matter?'

"No, no," Ebony replied in a distant tone, still watching the boy now standing a few feet away from her. "I can manage." She picked up the book with some difficulty, and smiled at Rotwood. "Thank you very much."

"Does this mean I can go?" It was the first time Ebony had heard the boy speak, and hearing his voice sent an odd sensation shivering down her spine. The corner of her mouth twitched in a sort of interested smile.

She felt an abrupt change of attitude upon hearing Rotwood's voice, however, and was pulled reluctantly out of her thoughts once again.

"I... suppose... so..." he said through clenched teeth, sounding as though it cost him great difficulty. He seemed to refuse to look at his student and instead chose to glare hatefully at the crumpled pile of paper where the book had been moments ago.

"Sah-weet!" the boy exclaimed jovially, pumping a fist by his side.

"Thanks again, Professor!" Ebony said cheerfully before heading out the door.

"You're very welcome, Miss Gray," the man replied kindly. His tone changed when he turned to his student. "Goodbye, Mr. Long," he said condescendingly, the oh-so-familiar glare returning to his cold eyes. The boy waved mockingly, before quickly grabbing his things and following Ebony out into the empty hall.

"Alright!" he said as soon as they were out of earshot of Room 113. He turned to Ebony, a wide grin plastered on his face. His expression gave her that odd sensation again. "Hey, thanks a ton for gettin' me outta there. I thought I was gonna lose my mind copyin' down all that nonsense. Rotwood is way outta whack if he thinks I'm ever gonna finish…" He trailed off as he noticed Ebony struggling with the thick book. "Need some help with that?" he asked kindly.

"No, no," she insisted in reply. "I'm okay."

He smiled knowingly. "No, you're not. Here…" He carefully took the book from her and held it securely under his left arm. Contrary to its size, Ebony was surprised to see that it didn't seem to bother him much at all.

"Thanks," she replied with a sideways smile.

He grinned again. "Now we're even."

Ebony waved her hand in the air. "No problem. To tell you the truth, I just needed the book. I didn't know anyone would actually be using it at the time."

"Well, hey, thanks anyway. It got me outta a bunch of work." He paused for a second, that inquisitive look returning to grace his features. "You know, that was some serious suckin' up you did to Rotwood in there. How'd you know it'd work?"

Ebony shrugged. "I asked some of the students when classes let out. They told me how completely obsessive he is over mythology, how he wished everyone would 'recognize his genius and follow in his footsteps'. So, that's exactly what I did."

"Well, congrats. It worked." They walked on a little in silence, until he spoke up again. "So, you just moved here, huh?"

"Yeah. My dad and me, well, we move around a lot. I've probably attended at least twelve schools in the past seven or eight years."

"Wow," he observed, eyebrows raised.

"Yeah," Ebony said distantly. "And speaking of schools, I'm actually starting here tomorrow."

"Really?" the boy asked interestedly. "What grade?"

"Eleventh."

He grinned again. "Me too. I'm sure we'll be seeing more of each other, then."

Ebony silently hoped he was right as they finally reached the school's main front exit and walked outside. "Well, I'm this way," she informed, jabbing a finger over her shoulder toward her new home.

He handed her the book, making sure she had a firm grip on it before letting go. "I'm that way." He nodded in the opposite direction as he pulled his skateboard and helmet out of his backpack, causing some stray crumpled papers to escape onto the sidewalk. Ebony giggled slightly as he knelt down to shove them back in messily before closing the zipper and trapping them inside. "So I guess I'll see you around, er…?"

It was then she realized they had never introduced themselves. "Ebony," she finished for him, shifting the weight of the book to shake his hand. As soon as she touched his skin, she felt the immediate return of the strange shivers in her spine. "Ebony Gray."

"Jake Long," he supplied his name, ending the handshake and snapping on his helmet. "Nice meeting you, Ebony, and thanks again for rescuing me from Rotwood. Later!" With that, he stepped on his skateboard, gave one last friendly wave, and skated off down the road.

Ebony remained standing there as she quietly watched his retreating form fade farther and farther from view. And as he disappeared from sight, it finally began to sink in that she had accomplished what she'd come here to do. She'd gotten the book, and she was now one step closer to reaching her final goal. Smiling at her own thoughts, she began heading for home, ready to put the next phase of her plan into action.

* * *

_¡Capítulo cinco es terminado! _

You know, I really hate using the words 'giggled' and 'chuckled' when writing. I know that they both mean simply 'a small laugh', but they just sound weird. I mean, when I hear 'giggled' I think of like some high-pitched, girly thing, and when I hear 'chuckled' I think of like, some fat guy, gurgle-y laugh. I can't express how much I dislike using those words, even though they're all that fits. …Well, that's my rant for the day. Sorry to trouble you all!

Anyway, please review, if you feel so inclined, and I'll see ya next chappie.

Lata, y'all!


	6. Turns

Sorry this chapter took so long. I guess I really have no real excuse for the lateness, so I'll just stick with "I'm sorry!"

So without further rambling, here's Chapter 6!

* * *

_Crraaack!_

Jake flinched slightly as he stepped on a twig camouflaged against the dark forest floor. He looked around. When nothing in the surrounding darkness seemed to react at the sudden noise, he kept walking, being sure to stay more alert in case of any more surprises.

Jake had no idea of how he had gotten to the maze of endless woods he was currently in, but somehow he still felt as if he was supposed to be there, like there was a purpose to his immediate presence. However mysterious the enclosing darkness seemed, Jake still pressed on, walking deftly through the trees, eyes and ears alert for any sign of… well, anything.

"And stay away from here! We never want to see you freaks set foot in this town again!"

Jake froze, listening intently. He had heard the faint voice from somewhere up ahead, where he was beginning to see a small line of glowing golden lights. He expected it was a small village, in a clearing up ahead. He didn't want to draw attention to himself, so he edged toward the lights as silently as he could, still straining to hear what was going on there.

"But—Where will we go?" A man's voice, different than the last. It sounded… nervous, afraid, even frantic.

"Oh, and it's supposed to be _our _problem no one will accept that… that… _thing!" _This voice, a woman's, was dripping with hatred and resentment, felt obviously for whatever she was referring to. Even more curious now, Jake crept on.

"What has she ever done to you?" the second man shouted, the fear in his voice melting away into a strong, defensive tone.

"She _exists!_" a third man retorted scornfully. Jake couldn't help but think that that may have been a little harsh. The man went on, "_Look _at her! She looks more evil than anything I've ever seen! How can you possibly defend her when for all we know, she could turn around one night and kill us all!"

At this, Jake had finally reached the edge of the trees. Curiosity driving him forward, and judgment keeping him from going too far, he stretched a hand out ever so carefully and pulled back a large branch, revealing an unusual scene before him.

There was a mob of villagers, all keeping a safe distance to one side of an invisible line a few feet in front of the foremost of the group. On the other side of the line stood the objects of their heated remarks. A tall, unkempt man stood defensively, a look of determination on his face, in front of a small creature, which Jake recognized immediately as a gorgon. It looked much younger than the gorgon he had seen in his dream the other day; its skin was a deep onyx, its eyes a piercing green, and the snakes of its hair were a vibrant blood-red. Its wings had not grown fully yet, as they were still just small stubs protruding from its back. Judging by its size, he guessed it was about the equivalent of a 5-year-old human.

"She is _not _evil!" the man in front of the young gorgon said confidently.

"I'm sorry," the man at the front of the group said as he stepped forward, sounding anything but apologetic, "but your word simply isn't enough. Now _go! _We never want to see or hear of you or that _demon _again!"

The man looked about to retort, but the gorgon behind him tugged on his sleeve, looking up at him with a sad gleam in her emerald eyes. He softened, before picking her up and leaving the village without another word.

All of a sudden, everything in Jake's surrounding flashed brilliantly white. The blinding light radiated out of nowhere, reflecting off of anything and everything. The sudden flash was so bright, it forced Jake to pull his arms up over his eyes shielding them from certain blindness, until it died down.

When Jake lowered his arms, he felt the effects of the blinding light as his vision was temporarily blackened. He put a hand to his head and allowed his eyes to recover for a moment, before opening them again. Upon doing so, he froze.

No longer was he in the village clearing in the woods. He was now in what seemed to be a dark alleyway. It was still night, so he couldn't see very well, but he could tell by the look, feel, and smell of the place that he was currently in the slums of an urban city. Trash littered the ground, and a beaten-up, overflowing dumpster was leaning lazily against one of the two giant brick walls that surrounded the alley. There was a ragged old man standing next to the dumpster, fishing around inside. He seemed to be looking for something, but wasn't having any luck. At the sight of this man, Jake was filled with an odd combination of confusion and pity. He recognized the man as being homeless, having seen a lot of such people in his home city. But despite that, his surroundings were unfamiliar.

Deciding to get to the bottom of this, Jake began to walk forward, toward the man. "Hey!" he called. "Do you know where we are?"

The man didn't look up, or even acknowledge the teen's presence. He just continued to fish through the trash.

"Excuse me?" Jake tried again, taking a more polite approach. "Where is this?"

Again, the man ignored him. Instead, he pulled a moldy, half-eaten sandwich of unknown content and origin from the dumpster, and looked at it hungrily.

Jake flinched, startled. "You're not gonna—" Too late. Jake watched with a mixture of horror and disgust as the man took an eager bite out of the sandwich, chewed nonchalantly, and swallowed. "Aw, man, that's just sick! How can you live like this?"

The man still did not reply or even look at his addressor. He simply walked over to the other wall of the alley, sat down on the damp dirt, and took another hungry bite. Jake's stomach turned over violently at the sight, and, deciding not to stick around for dessert, he began walking quickly out of the alley.

Upon reaching the street, he took a breath of the fresh air outside, only to find it not much better. Looking around the city, he saw a dampening, disappointing sight. The city was big, yes, but looked almost - there was no other word for it - dead.

There were many tall, looming buildings lining the streets, but most of them were dark and appeared vacant. The dim lights coming from the several 24-hour convenient stores did little in the way of city-wide lighting. The sidewalks were void of streetlights, which Jake found odd, considering most places were required to have them nowadays. No one was out, a fact that only added to the mystery and desolateness of the place. The air was thick and humid, like a summer evening, but still Jake could feel chills running through his body. The whole thing just had a creepy feel to it, as if something just wasn't right.

As Jake walked uneasily through the barren street, he began to think that maybe he had gone back in time. He knew that was highly unlikely, but the atmosphere seemed to suggest a distant universe, as if Jake had unknowingly crossed the barrier into another dimension.

When he reached the end of the street, he turned the corner onto a smaller, private road. The rusty, crooked street sign at the intersection read 'Ravage Way'_. Gee, that's inviting, _Jake thought sarcastically as he followed the direction it was pointing. Upon doing so, he learned that the name was actually quite fitting. The street he had just entered was a residential area, but the way it looked made Jake wonder why anyone would want to reside there at all. There were cracks in the road, and a sidewalk was literally nonexistent. The grass was old and yellowed, the lawns unkempt, and the houses small and run-down. Very few of them had cars in the driveways. Not many even had driveways. It was altogether a depressing sight.

As Jake looked across the street to a particularly small and dirty house, he saw a small figure standing slightly hunched over on the front lawn. It looked to be a child, about nine or ten years of age.

"You can't evict us!" came a voice from inside the door. "Where will we go?"

All of a sudden, the door sprang open, and a single suitcase was thrown out of it, where it landed messily atop the ground, spreading its contents over the dead grass. The light from the now open door allowed Jake to glimpse fully the child in the yard, only to realize that it wasn't in fact a 'child' at all; it was the young gorgon he had seen in the forest town, only this time a little older.

Following the suitcase, a man finally stepped out onto the front step, the same man that was with the gorgon child before. He seemed to be glaring at an unidentified figure beyond Jake's line of vision that still lingered in the cover of the house.

"Am I supposed to _care_?" shot a cruel, female voice from inside the doorway, resonating from whom Jake supposed the man was facing. "You can't pay the mortgage! How am I expected to let you _stay_?"

"We have no money!" the man shouted back in a desperate voice. "No one will hire me, _anywhere_!"

"That's not _my _problem. Look, I've got a job to do. If you don't pay, you can't have the house. Simple as that."

The man seemed very distressed and dissatisfied, but looked as though he knew he couldn't win. Instead, he turned to his belongings scattered across the lawn, and began picking them up and shoving them back into the suitcase. The young gorgon strode over to him and knelt down by his side, seemingly consoling him. He put a hand on its shoulder, then picked up the suitcase and, holding the child's hand, walked off, away from Jake and the house.

Jake wanted to follow them, find out exactly where he was and what was going on. But unfortunately for him, at that exact moment…

_BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP_

Jake groaned loudly and rolled over onto his back, turning to glare at the alarm clock next to his bed as it flashed the digital numbers _7:38 _across the face. He instantly forgot this feeling, however, as he realized he was running late. Making an internal promise to smash that clock one day in the near future, he reluctantly dragged himself out of bed and began hurriedly preparing for school.

Jake made it into the classroom just as the bell to start the day rang loudly in the hall. Rotwood, however, was decidedly absent. Jake breathed a sigh of relief as he strode to the back of the room toward his usual seat. He passed Rose at her table on the way back, glancing briefly in her direction. She simply turned her head to talk with the girl on her other side. After the ski trip incident, Jake had realized that he could no longer spend time with Rose, as much as he so wanted to, because it would endanger her safety as well as his. Rose had seemed saddened by his quick change of attitude, and tried to get him to change his mind, but he stood firm. Jake remembered with a guilty pang the devastated and helpless look on her face that winter evening outside his grandfather's shop, when he had told her for the last time that he couldn't be her friend. In the years since then, the two had grown further apart. Jake knew he still liked her just as much, and wished it didn't have to be this way, but he knew that, for the time being, there was nothing he could do.

Upon reaching the back table, he took his usual seat on the end next to Trixie, still thinking to himself.

"What's up with you?" Trixie asked him curiously, having noticed the thoughtful look on his face. Jake turned to face her.

"Nothing," he said off-handedly. He thought for a moment, then looked at her again. "Hey, I had another weird dream last night."

Spud leaned in from Trixie's other side, looking at Jake with an excited glance. "Was it another one of those psychic dreams? Dude, you _gotta _let me know how you do that! I so wanna see the future, too!" He turned to gaze at the ceiling, an odd, dream-like expression taking over his features. "I can see it now! The power to gaze into the untold mysteries the future might hold! I could make a living out of reading fortunes and everything!"

His two friends stared at him solemnly, strange expressions on their faces. Then Jake turned back to Trixie. "I don't know _what_ it was, but it was weird. There was—"

At that exact moment, Rotwood reentered the room and stood purposefully at the front of the room. He cleared his throat loudly to get the students' attention. "Class? _Class!_" They quieted down and watched him tentatively. "Good. Now that I have your attention, I would like to take this opportunity to introduce a new student, one that I am most certain will be an example to all of you _hooligans _on the respect in which you should view the subject of mythology." He gestured to someone just outside the door. "Class, I would like you to meet Miss Ebony Gray."

From the hallway outside entered a pretty girl about Rose's height, with dazzling green eyes, a smooth, pale complexion, and sleek black hair reaching to about the small of her back. Her graceful entrance attracted the immediate attention of the entire male population of the classroom, save for Jake, who had of course met her the previous day. She scanned the room calmly, analyzing each face before her with reserved interest. When her eyes met Jake's, she grinned and waved enthusiastically. He smiled easily and waved back. At this, most of the other boys looked at him with surprise and envy in their eyes.

Spud leaned across Trixie to stare wide-eyed at him. "You _know _her?" he demanded.

Jake seemed taken aback. "…Yeah," he answered uncertainly. "Remember I told you someone came to see Rotwood during my detention and took the book? That was her."

"I expect you all to make her feel right at home in this school. And rest assured I _will _be checking with her now and then to make sure." Jake was sure he saw Ebony flinch slightly, but just as quickly it was gone, and she turned to smile appreciatively at the teacher, before heading to find a seat. Jake watched with amusement as Brad, who sat near the front at a table with the rest of his jock buddies, quickly shoved the guy next to him off the chair and onto the floor, holding the now empty place out for Ebony to sit in. She glanced briefly in Jake's direction, before smiling at Brad and taking the seat, not even looking at the disgruntled boy on the floor as he rose to find another place.

-0-0-0-

"I'm tellin' you guys, it was weird."

The day had ended, and Jake, Trixie, and Spud were now heading toward the front entrance of the school. Jake had just finished recounting his dream the previous night.

"And you didn't get a chance to find out who they were?" Trixie asked, a puzzled frown on her face.

Jake shook his head distractedly. "No. But the worst part was that it felt so real, just like the other dream I had. I'm guessing somehow they're related."

"I still think it's cool," Spud supplied, pulling a yo-yo from his pocket and beginning to play with it absent-mindedly as they reached the doors. "You think maybe it's a dragon thing?"

Jake's brow furrowed in concentration as he racked his brain for anything relating to his current situation. "I don't think I remember anything about dragons with prophetic dreams…"

"What about dragons with prophetic dreams?"

All three of them whirled around at the sudden intrusion to see Ebony leaning against the wall beside the door, an innocent gleam in her emerald eyes. The three friends paled considerably.

Jake spoke first. "What?" He laughed nervously, his mind working for an excuse. "I didn't say anything about 'dragons with prophetic dreams.' I said, uh…dactyls…with…"

"Prosthetic…" Trixie supplied.

"Limbs," Spud finished simply. The three of them looked at each other in exasperation, each one of them thinking, _No way anyone would buy that…_

Ebony cocked her head to the right as she stepped away from the wall and walked toward them. "Dactyls with… prosthetic… limbs…?"

Jake nodded nervously. "Y-yeah."

Ebony just shrugged. "Alright, whatever." The three breathed a sigh of relief. Ebony looked expectantly at Jake, gesturing toward Trixie and Spud. Jake took the hint.

"Oh, right," he said sheepishly, turning to face them. "Ebony, this is Trixie," she waved briefly, smiling, "and Spud." Spud nodded slightly, staring oddly at the girl in front on him.

After nodding to each of them in turn, she turned to Jake again, fixing him with a hopeful glance. "Hey, Jake, you doing anything right now?"

"Actually," Jake began, feeling as though he was already in enough trouble already, "I kind of have to be somewhere." It was the truth, too. If he bailed on his grandfather again, the old man was sure to throw a fit.

Ebony's expression saddened as she looked down. The effect reminded Jake unhappily of Rose's face that night three years ago. "Oh, okay." She managed a forced smile as she looked back up at him. "Well, I'll see you around, right?" she finished in a hopeful tone.

Jake smiled reassuringly. "Of course."

She nodded, smiling genuinely again, and turned her back on them, heading home. Spud immediately turned to Jake, who started at the look on his friend's face.

"_Why _did you do that?" he demanded in a reprimanding tone.

Jake was at a loss for words. "D-do… what?" he stuttered uncertainly.

"Send her away! She wanted to _go out _with you, man! Are you _crazy?_"

Jake looked down, avoiding his friend's eyes, as they began walking home. "I gotta go to G's shop. If I'm late again-"

"Forget the old man! Just _look _at that girl! She's-" Trixie smacked Spud in the back of the head to shut him up. He uttered a pained 'ow' as she then turned to Jake, a caring look on her face.

"Jake, what is it really?"

He looked at her, trying to appear passive. "What do you mean?" She just raised an eyebrow at him pointedly. He sighed, looking at the ground once again.

The truth was, he hadn't agreed to go out with any girl since he stopped talking to Rose. Every time someone showed an interest in him, he'd just back out and make excuses. Somehow it just… didn't feel right. He just couldn't help it; he still liked Rose, he always would, and he didn't want to give up on that.

Trixie seemed to read his mind. "It's Rose, isn't it?" He looked up, sadness in his eyes. She put a comforting hand on his shoulder. "I know you don't wanna let her go, Jakey, but sooner or later you're gonna have to." He looked away again, knowing painfully that she was right. He couldn't hold on forever. "Why don't you give this Ebony girl a chance? It could be good for you." She glanced at him hopefully, as he looked thoughtful.

He sighed again. "I guess you're right. I should stop pushing people away."

"Good," Trixie replied satisfactorily. "Now, about your new 'power'…"

-0-0-0-

The time was 6:58 p.m. Ebony was walking the quiet street alone, thinking to herself. She thought about a lot of things, her new school, the past day's events, but mostly what was to come. She was now headed to the Huntsclan's lair, prepared to present the choice of various spells she had found for them.

Upon reaching the door, she was about to knock, when she heard voices coming from the other side. Being a naturally curious person, she decided that a little listening couldn't hurt. After all, they were practically her partners now; their business was her business. So she quietly pressed her ear up to the door, and listened…

-0-0-0-

"Yes, it's coming along perfectly."

"It is exactly as you planned, Huntsmaster," Huntsgirl replied, bowing slightly.

"Once we obtain the power spell from this witch, we will be unstoppable! Not even the American Dragon will be able to stand in our way!" The Huntsman's eyes gleamed with excitement through his mask.

"But Master," his niece queried, "what are we to do with this girl after we slay the dragon? If she is as powerful as she says, her anger at being cheated will surely cause her to turn against us, and she may prove a strong enemy."

The Huntsman rose from the table at which he had been seated. "Do not fear, Huntsgirl. If we simply demand the spell first, there is no chance she will be able to stand against our iron might. She will be nothing more than a bump in our path to domination."

"Of course, Master. You are most ingenious. Now if I must beg your leave, for I have preparation matters to attend to." She bowed again, and walked swiftly out of the room, leaving the Huntsman alone. He seated himself at the table once again, beginning to think aloud.

"All my life, my goal has been to bring about the eventual destruction of all the world's magical creatures, but for years a single dragon has stood in my way. But soon, soon I will I finally be able to defeat him for good, and to find my quest fulfilled and my mission complete…"

-0-0-0-

Ebony was furious. They were plotting against her? Those no-good, back-stabbing, can't-be-trusted _amateur hunters! _

_Oh, they'll pay for this, _she thought angrily. _They actually thought they could pull a fast one on _me?_ Well, think again, pals, 'cause this 'witch' is gonna show you that you got another thing comin'!_

With that, she stormed back toward her house, all the while her head filling up with all sorts of evil and malicious plans for revenge against the people who thought they could outsmart someone like her. Boy, were they in for a surprise.

* * *

So there's Chapter 6. And sorry again for the wait! Please review on your way out, and thanks for droppin' by!

Till next chapter, MT out!


	7. Questions

Sorry this took a little longer than usual. Here's Chapter 7!

* * *

Ebony sat in her room, flipping angrily through the back section of the _History of Mythology _book that now lay open on her desk. This was the section filled with information on a multitude of spells, charms, and potions, a number of which she found quite interesting. She was still furious at the thought of the Huntsclan's betrayal, and was determined to get them before they got her. They wanted power? Well, they'd get something powerful, alright. All Ebony needed to do was decide which course to take…

She'd decided her goal was to anger the hunters as much as she possibly could. She thought about what they hated most, and instantly came to a conclusion: the American Dragon. If she could find a way to make _him _more powerful instead, that would really do the job.

So here she sat, leafing through the spell index, until something caught her eye. She flipped the page back and glanced at the entry laid out on the parchment. It had no title; it was a spell most ancient, but most powerful indeed. In fact, it was so dangerous that it had been marked 'forbidden' in the late thirteenth century. For what reason, Ebony knew not, but it intrigued her still. If she was to use it, however, she needed to test this dragon, discover his limits. After hastily copying down the incantation of the spell on the back of her history homework, she flipped back a few pages, and came to rest on a simple spell written next to a picture of a menacing-looking monster. Smiling deviously, she closed her emerald eyes and cleared her mind…

-0-0-0-

_RRRIIIIINNNG!_

Jake woke up instantly, bolting upright into a sitting position on his bed. "W-what…?"

_RRRIIIIINNNG!_

Recognizing the annoying sound, he turned and reached slowly over to pick up the phone on his bedside table. "Hello?" he said groggily into the speaker.

"Kid?" came Fu Dog's voice from the other end. "Sorry to wake ya, but we got a bit of a situation here." His voice sounded rushed and distracted, as Jake could hear the sound of wood splintering in the background. "There goes another tree…" Fu Dog groaned absently. "You better get your tail down here to Central Park now, kid, before there's no 'park' left."

"I'm on my way," Jake replied, fully awake now, before hanging up the phone and setting it back down. He quickly got out of bed and stood in front of the window. "Dragon up!" he said, reverting to his dragon form. He opened the window carefully, letting in the cool autumn night breeze, before jumping out of it and flying swiftly toward Central Park.

Upon arriving, he realized that Fu Dog hadn't been exaggerating about the damage done. There were trees knocked over on their sides, littering the ground, or what was left of it. Most of the grass had been seemingly dug up, revealing the damp earth beneath it. Pieces of the once-brilliantly-colored autumn leaves were scattered across the dirt, as though someone had taken great caution to step on every single one.

Jake flew a few feet above the ground, searching thoroughly for any sign of movement. There were no people around (which Jake found odd, considering the noise whatever did this must have made), nor was there any sign of the cause of this disaster. Jake's search came to a halt, however, when he suddenly heard a rustling sound behind him. He whipped around rapidly, ready to attack, but stopped when he saw Fu Dog emerge from a pile of broken leaves.

Jake breathed a sigh of relief. "Man, am I glad to see you. What the heck happened here?"

Fu Dog seemed about to answer, but froze suddenly, eyes widening at something in the vicinity of Jake's right ear.

"Fu?" Jake tried to get his attention.

The dog quickly snapped out of it. "Jake, behind you!"

"What?" Jake turned quickly around, just in time to be whipped across the stomach with what looked like a fat, green rope, and thrown about nine feet to the left, landing hard against the thick stump of a fallen oak tree. He shook his head, attempting to shake the feeling of dizziness, before snapping his gaze to the direction of what had hit him. He was surprised at what he saw.

On the ground a few yards away was a gigantic, dinosaur-like lizard, standing lazily on four short, fat legs. It had to be about four feet tall, and at least fifteen feet long, its enormous tail making up significantly half of that length (Jake came to the assumption that the 'fat, green rope' that had hit him had in fact been this thing's tail). The single feature that was most frightening, however, was the three large heads it had stretching from its long neck, each bearing numerous rows of jagged, white teeth. Its six blood-red eyes glared menacingly in Jake's direction, as a slimy, grey tongue slid hungrily across its bottom lip. Altogether, the thing looked positively monstrous.

"Uh… Fu?" Jake began, not taking his wide eyes off the creature. "W-what exactly is that thing?"

"No idea, kid," Fu Dog answered from somewhere off. "I've never seen anything like it before. But hey, just like any other living creature, it's gotta come down somehow, right?"

Jake gulped. "I…"

"Come on, kid. Let 'im have it!"

Jake nodded resolutely, the familiar look of determination returning once again to his face as he stood up, facing the lizard.

"Well," he said to it, though he had no idea of whether or not it understood him, "let's see whatcha got!" And with that, he leapt into the air, flying at top speed toward the monster. It dodged the attack with incredible speed, which was completely unexpected given its size. The sudden movement surprised Jake, throwing him momentarily off-balance. The creature seemed to take this advantage and jumped into the air, attempting to tackle its opponent. Jake quickly maneuvered out of the way agilely, before grabbing the lizard by the tail as it was still in the air, spinning it around, and letting it be flung by gravity into a nearby still-standing tree that had happened to avoid the creature's previous rampage. It hit the trunk hard and slid to the ground, before rolling back onto its feet, an angry gleam in its three sets of eyes.

Seemingly taking a different approach, it reared back its left-most head, and sent a stream of blazing red fire toward Jake, who barrel-rolled out of the way.

"Not bad," he said, smiling determinedly at the lizard. "But I'll do ya one better!" With that, he opened his mouth and shot out three individual balls of flame, each one hitting its target at a different one of the monster's heads. It snarled in pain, shrinking back momentarily, before turning to Jake once again. This time, it reared its right-most head, and shot a steady stream of blue flame at its attacker, who jumped slightly before dodging as quickly as he could. The blue flame then split itself into two distinct streams, one hitting a surprised Jake directly in the upper left arm. As it turned out, this azure flame was much hotter than average red fire, causing Jake to cry out in sudden pain, his right hand shifting to clutch the burn. He then turned angrily back to the lizard in front of him, resolving to be much more careful. As he glared at the creature, he could have sworn he saw the equivalent of a smirk flash across its eyes, before it finally reared back its center head, and shot a wave of green goo in Jake's direction. Eyes widening, he quickly flew upward to escape the goop, and it instead landed against a thick, fallen tree trunk, hardening instantly.

_Well, that's new… _Jake thought, a curious look on his face. _I think I'd better stay away from that in the future…_

Deciding resolutely that it was time to end this fight, he turned rapidly and flew at bullet-speed toward the creature. Not expecting the attack from above, the lizard had not much time to guard, and instead strafed quickly to the side, exposing its underbelly. Seeing a chance, Jake pulled out of the dive and kicked the monster hard in the stomach with both feet, sending it sliding across the dirt. Before it could get up, he was already by its side. He picked it up and threw it as hard as he could; it flew a few yards and slammed into a standing tree. The force, however, caused the tree to break and fall backward, which in turn knocked down the trees behind and next to it. The three trunks and the lizard all fell into a heap on the earthy ground, sending up a cloud of dust and tiny pieces of colored leaves.

Jake watched intently for any sign of movement from within the pile of trees, but saw none. He sighed in relief and sank to his knees, his hand sheltering his burned arm.

Deciding it was safe to emerge from the pile of leaves again, Fu Dog reentered the area and went over to Jake. "Wow, nice job, kid," he stated appreciatively, before glancing at Jake's arm. "Let me see," he commanded, and Jake removed his right hand to reveal the badly-singed scales underneath. "Woo, that looks nasty. Come on," he said, standing up. "Let's get you home and bandage this up." Jake nodded and stood too.

They were about to leave, when Jake froze stock-still and held up a hand.

"What, you hear something?" Fu Dog began, but Jake shook his head to silence him. All of a sudden, Jake's head snapped up to stare into the trees to the left. What followed was a strange sound…

_Clap, clap, clap_

They both looked harder, trying to see the source of the sound. Then, from within the trees emerged a dark figure, its hands proving the origin of the noise as it slowly applauded. It walked forward just a little, enough for Jake to notice that it was wearing a long, black, hooded cloak, which completely masked its entire figure.

"Well done," it said mockingly, speaking in a scratchy growl of a voice. It sent chills down Jake's spine as he readied himself in a defensive stance. "Oh, there's no need. I'm not here to fight you. I was just checking on my little creation. But I see you've already taken care of that, now haven't you?"

Jake's eyes widened. "You sent that thing?"

The figure inclined its head. "I did. To test you."

"To… test me?" Jake asked in bewilderment. What did it mean by that?

The cloaked figure chuckled hollowly. Then, without warning, it crouched slightly toward the ground, spreading its arms to its side and staring down at the dirt. When it spoke again, it was in a different voice than before. It muttered something indistinguishable, some language other than English. When it fell silent, the ground around it began to glow a sinister crimson, as if lit from underneath. The figure then thrust an arm in Jake's direction, head snapping up again. A red ball of light seemed to travel up the figure's body, then shot off its outstretched hand, flying at light-speed toward Jake, who of course, being caught off guard, had no time to dodge. The ball of energy collided with the center of Jake's chest and seemed to seep into his body. Oddly enough though, he felt nothing whatsoever. But he was not naïve enough to believe that that meant nothing was wrong.

He glared at the being in front of him, falling into attack stance. "What was that?" he demanded.

The figure chuckled again. "You needn't worry about it. Soon, it really won't matter."

Bothered by the tone of voice the figure was using, Jake lunged forward toward it, only to land hard on the dirt at the last minute, the figure having shifted to the right a few feet at an alarming speed. Jake looked up at it, too shocked to even get up.

"Besides, if I told you," the figure said in a mocking tone, "what fun would it be for me?"

And with that, two enormous black, feathery wings sprang open from the creature's back. It spread them to their full length, and began beating them steadily, raising itself into the air. Without another word, it was off, fading away into the dark night sky.

Fu Dog ran over to where Jake still lay on the ground, his upper body propped up by his right arm, staring in disbelief at the retreating figure.

"You okay, kid?" Fu Dog asked with concern as he helped Jake up.

"Yeah, actually," Jake replied in a slightly confused tone, holding a hand to his head. "I feel perfectly fine. Any idea what that was about…?"

Fu's face screwed up in concentration. "That… being… It sounded like it was speaking in Greek. I don't know what it said, but it sure didn't seem surprised when nothing happened. I'm guessing we should try to find out a little more about whatever that was."

Jake silently picked up Fu Dog and placed him on his back, before leaping into the sky and heading quickly for home.

-0-0-0-

"And you're sure you've never seen anything like this creature before?"

"_Yes,_" Fu Dog and Lao Shi simultaneously told Susan for about the hundredth time.

"Or that hooded figure…?" she asked again as she finished bandaging her son's arm, after having spent that last hour fussing over it.

Fu Dog sighed. "Never. I gotta admit, I'm worried about it too. This dark, mysterious person comes out of nowhere, summons a giant lizard-beast that destroys half of Central Park, does some funky magic on Jake here, and leaves us all searching blindly in the dark for answers to questions we can't hope to solve with the minimum amount of information we have. I'm tellin' ya, I don't like it…"

Lao Shi shook his head in thought. "Neither do I. It seems whoever this enemy is, they are very experienced in the field of magic and trickery, and know just how to keep their opponents guessing."

"But how are we gonna do something about it if we don't know where to start looking?" Jake asked impatiently from his place on the couch, as his mother finally decided she was finished messing with his arm and stood to return the materials to the back room of the shop.

Lao Shi frowned. "That's exactly the question, isn't it? All we can do now is try to find out all we can about that spell the creature used. Fu Dog, I will need your help…" He led the way to the back room, Fu Dog in tow, as Susan reentered the front room. Jake got up from the couch and made to follow them, but his mother stood in the way.

"Sorry, Jake, but you have to get ready for school." He was about to protest, but she continued. "I know you're tired, but you've already had enough unexplained tardies and absences this year. The administration has been asking questions, and I don't think I can keep making excuses. Your father's getting suspicious too, you know…" she finished absently, thinking to herself.

Sighing, Jake turned his head to see the morning sunlight streaming through the musty shop windows, before glancing at the old clock hanging crookedly on the wall. The longer, thinner hand was bent at a sixty-five degree angle, making it difficult to tell which direction it was indicating, but it seemed it should be pointing at the 3; the short hand was decidedly indicating the 7. 7:15. Deciding she was right, he smiled at his mother, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek before heading out the door toward their home.

-0-0-0-

"Hey, Jakey," Trixie greeted brightly as she and Spud came to a halt beside Jake's locker. The locker door was open and he had is head inside, searching for some unidentified object. When he didn't close the locker, or even acknowledge their presence, Trixie tried again. "Er… Jake?" she queried, her smile faltering a bit. "You awake in there?"

Without warning, he pulled his head out of the locker and slammed the door shut, making his two friends jump in alarm, then turned to face them slowly. Upon seeing his face, their smiles vanished completely.

"Whoa… Jake, you okay, man?" Spud questioned concernedly. Jake looked positively exhausted. His hair looked unkempt and messy; it fell down over his forehead, almost blocking his eyes from view. Almost, but not entirely. In fact, that might've been a benefit, considering his eyes showed the most prominent evidence of his current state. They looked cloudy and slightly glazed over, his eyelids half-closed. The addition of the dark bags under his eyes made his appearance a bit creepy. Altogether, he looked like he hadn't slept in days.

Trixie stared into her friend's eyes, not letting him look away. "Jakey, what happened? You look exhausted!"

Jake shrugged lazily, shoving a book into his open backpack. "I was out all night with… dragon stuff," he said in an undertone, glancing over his shoulder to make sure no one could have happened to overhear.

Trixie looked shocked. "They made you go out in the _middle of the night? _Man, they should know you need sleep! You've been tired enough lately! This dragon thing is taking over your life!" Several passing students glanced curiously in the direction of the three friends, seeming to wonder if they heard Trixie's exclamation correctly.

"_Shh!_" Jake shushed her frantically, a serious look in his tired eyes. "_You wanna tell the whole school?_"

She smiled sheepishly. "Sorry."

"You know she's right, though, bro," Spud picked up in an undertone. "This thing you do? Don't you ever notice how it's affecting you?"

"Evil never sleeps, guys," Jake pointed out monotonously, glaring sarcastically in their direction. "I know it's rough, but it's my duty. I can't abandon it."

Seeing they weren't going to make any headway in converting their stubborn friend, they let it go for now, sighing in defeat. Jake nodded curtly before reopening his locker and reaching his left hand into it to grab a notebook from inside. In doing so, Trixie noticed the long bandages encasing his upper arm. She grabbed his right forearm and spun him forcibly around to face her.

"Hey!" he shouted in protest, his look of pained surprise meeting hers of concern. She snatched up his left wrist and held it in front of his eyes.

"What happened last night?" she demanded as Spud noticed the wound as well.

"N-nothing," Jake stammered, forcing his wrist out of her grasp and once again shielding his upper arm with his right hand.

Trixie shook her head. "Then what's that?" she questioned, indicating his left arm.

"It's… I just got burned. It's no big deal."

Trixie paused. "How long were you out last night?"

Jake's eyes narrowed. He didn't seem to understand where this was going. "About…three or four hours…"

She looked him directly in the eye, seeming to have gotten exactly what she wanted. When she spoke, it was in a softer tone than before. "It's getting worse, Jake."

He looked at her strangely, as if she was speaking a different language. "What?"

She glanced at Spud, questioning him with her eyes, wondering if it was time to divulge to their friend the very worry that the two of them had been gradually feeling over the course of the past few years. He nodded solemnly, not saying a word, and she turned back to Jake.

"You've been doing this thing of yours for over three years now. You've gotten better, we've noticed. You can do things now that you never could've dreamed of doing when you were thirteen." She paused a moment, glancing at Jake. He was looking at her curiously, as if wondering where in the world she could be going with this. "But you know what else we've noticed? …There are consequences to greatness, even in your case." Trixie saw that Jake was now glancing at her with an expression of mixed confusion, interest, and maybe even a hint of resentment. Knowing now that he wasn't going to interrupt, she continued.

"With your growing power, more and more races have come to rely on you for help. They need you, or at least, they think they do. They take advantage of your abilities, begging for help whether they really need it or not. And every time, you never hesitate to lend a hand. But all this? The late nights, the constant missions…it's all taking its toll on you, Jake. I mean, look at you! You think we're the only ones who notice? Everyone can see it! We're just the only ones who know the truth!"

Jake stared at his two friends in disbelief. "You guys are thinking way too much into it. I'm fine, really," he insisted. He glanced around the bustling hallway, noticing that quite a few groups of people were indeed shooting glances his way and muttering to one another in hushed tones.

"No, Jake," Trixie argued, placing a hand on his shoulder as he looked at her again. "You're not thinking _enough _into it."

He shrugged her hand off his shoulder and took a step back. "I can't refuse to help somebody, Trix. It's my—"

"—'It's your duty,' I know," she said disdainfully, shooting him a meaningful look. "But you have to draw the line somewhere! Think of what it's doing to you!"

"Don't you _get it? _I don't _care _what it does to me! I don't know how and I don't know why, but something inside me knows that I have to put the safety of these magical creatures before my own!" He didn't seem to care that they were in the middle of a crowded hallway, and half the people around were stopping to stare at the argument that was progressing in front of them.

"But, Jake—"

"NO! It's _my _life and I'll do what I want with it! So just _LEAVE ME ALONE!" _

Trixie and Spud instantly froze. Not because Jake had just shouted at them at the top of his lungs, not because half the school was now staring at the three of them, not because they had just voiced their concerns and had seen it go horribly wrong, and not even because they had just had the biggest fight the three best friends had ever had. In fact, the reason they had stopped stock-still and stared in disbelief at Jake was because at the exact moment when his voice had reached its peak, his dark, tired eyes had flashed a dangerous, violent yellow. It was brief, so brief in fact that they were willing to bet no one else had noticed it, but still they knew it happened.

All of a sudden, the bell rang loudly across the dead-silent halls, signaling an eruption of noise and activity. The students began whispering to each other as they headed off for their first period classes, the top story of the day's gossip vine sure to include the morning's events.

Jake blinked his eyes three or four times, shaking his head as if trying to rid it of unwanted thoughts. When he met Trixie and Spud's eyes again, his were full this time with a look of mixed confusion and regret. He mouthed soundless words, seemingly deciding whether or not to say anything, before quickly looking away, grabbing his things messily off the floor, and turning on his heel, heading head-down away from his two friends.

Trixie and Spud looked at each other, each sporting stares of worry, confusion, and fear, before also collecting their things and heading off to class.

* * *

This was a difficult chapter to write, too, as you may imagine. Then again, this kinda stuff may come easily to people without my dramatized mind, so...yeah.

Whatever. See ya lata!

-oMM


	8. Consternations

As promised, here's Chapter 8. Two chaps in one day, aren't you all lucky?

* * *

"I know, but I still think we should talk to him."

Trixie nodded in agreement, thinking to herself. After the morning's dispute, Jake had avoided her and Spud all day. He hadn't sat in his usual seat near them in any class, or even at lunch. He hardly lingered at his locker like he usually did, instead spending as little time in the halls as possible. The odd thing was, he didn't seem angry any more at all. He seemed… confused, sad, even ashamed. And now, as the final bell rang to signal the end of the day, Trixie and Spud knew that they had to get Jake to talk to them somehow.

So as they exited the building via the main front entrance, they spotted Jake, him having just exited the door a little before them. Trixie called out his name, causing him to stop and turn to face them. He looked as though he was done avoiding them, and was ready to talk to them again, so they approached him carefully.

Before they could say a word, he dove into a long-winded apology.

"I'm so sorry, guys. I honestly don't know what came over me. I mean, you were just being concerned for my well-being and I was taking it the total wrong way and I was way outta line and I know you probably shouldn't have any reason to forgive me for yelling like that and getting all mad, but—"

"Okay, okay!" Trixie interrupted, holding out her hands to silence him. His eyes fell to the ground. "We know you didn't mean to get so mad." He looked up at them hopefully.

"We forgive you, bro," Spud consoled. "But… We're sorry too." Jake looked at him quizzically, as if wondering why they should be sorry.

"You were right," Trixie supplied with a sigh. "We shouldn't condemn you for wanting to help others in need. It's one of the things that make you…you. It's why you're so great at what you do."

Jake smiled in what looked like immense relief. "So…you don't hate me, _and _you agree with me?"

They both returned the smile, letting it prove as their answer. Grinning wider, Jake grabbed both of them in a tight hug.

"I know I've said it before, but I'll say it again and again:" Jake said as he stepped back and smiled genuinely. "You guys rock!"

Trixie and Spud looked at each other, grinning widely as well. "We know," they said simultaneously, as the three friends began walking away from the school.

Trixie turned to Jake, something still on her mind. "So, you still never told us. What _did _happen last night…?" There was a definite undertone of caution in her voice, as she was yet unsure of whether or not Jake wanted to talk about it. She relaxed, however, when she saw him glance around the block like he always did when they were about to discuss his secret life, checking to see if anyone was within earshot. Deeming it safe, he turned back to his two friends.

"Fu called me in the middle of the night," he began in an undertone. "He said something was out destroying Central Park…"

-0-0-0-

"And none of you knew what happened?"

"No," Jake replied honestly. "Gramps and Fu were gonna check into it today. I was gonna head over to the shop now, if you guys wanna come…?"

Both of them nodded vigorously. They had been very interested in the tale Jake told of the previous night's events, and seemed just as eager to find the solution as he was.

When they reached the electronics shop, Jake led the way in through the door, tossing his backpack carelessly onto the sofa in the process.

"Gramps?" he called. "Fu?"

"Right here," Fu Dog replied, entering the area from the back room. Jake looked about to say something, but Fu Dog held up a hand. "Before you ask, no, we haven't found a thing about that figure, the creature, or the spell. I swear, that guy's more cryptic than anything I've ever seen." Jake's face fell considerably as he dropped to a sitting position in the middle of the carpeted floor. Fu Dog walked over to him, placing a consoling hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry, kid. We'll figure it out. We always do." Jake looked over at him and smiled, before getting up again and grabbing his things.

"Well, thanks Fu. I gotta go. Tons of homework." Trixie and Spud each nodded in agreement, following Jake out the door. Once outside, Jake's mood immediately dampened yet again.

"C'mon, Jakey," Trixie began, seeing his attitude change. "They're gonna find the truth. It's only a matter of time."

"Yeah," Spud agreed, picking up the hint. "When have you ever known that dog to not have information somewhere on some new magical species?" Jake glanced up at them, a small smile returning to his face.

"You guys are right. I shouldn't be worried. I should just…trust them."

"Exactly," Trixie replied, nodding in agreement as they reached Jake's house.

"Well," Jake said as he stopped at the door, hand on the doorknob, "thanks, guys. For the support, you know…"

They smiled at him. "Don't worry about it, man," Spud replied. Jake grinned thankfully, before waving one last time, opening the door, and heading inside. Once he was out of view, Trixie and Spud looked at each other again, smiles fading. They were both thinking the same thing, but neither wanted to voice a word. From Jake's retelling of his encounter with the mysterious hooded figure the previous night, it sounded like whoever it was really knew what they were doing. This meant that there was a reason they were being kept in the dark; that figure apparently made sure that what he was up to was kept secret. It also meant that that spell had definitely done something to Jake. The problem they were now faced with was finding out what…

-0-0-0-

_October 1_

_Hey! Me again. Who else would be writing in my diary? Anyway, I know I haven't really been keeping this thing up-to-date, but with all I've been doing, I really haven't had the time (I started school, by the way! Everyone's been great, too! And I met this amazing boy! But you don't need to hear about that now; there are more important matters at hand…). But it won't be much longer now. Soon I'll be fulfilling my 'deal' with the Huntsclan. I've decided to wait two more days, though, to let the curse I put on that dragon take a little more form. But trust me, I've got it all worked out. It'll all be over soon, and I'll finally have what I've wanted for so long…_

'_Til next time!_

_Ebony_

-0-0-0-

Jake was walking through the city at some indefinite nighttime hour. The city he'd lived in all his life, but something was different. The entire place was completely in ruins. There were gigantic cracks and holes in the street. The once-proud-standing buildings were wrecked and fallen. Cars were crashed in every direction in the middle of the road and on the side, but no people, living or otherwise, were in sight. Rubble littered the streets, and the far-off edifices were up in flames. A monstrous, blazing inferno had engulfed the broken buildings and eroded streets, eating away at the piles of rubble that solely remained as remnants of the once-bustling urban metropolis. It was a horrific sight, and as he wandered alone through the broken town, Jake could only wonder with a relentless, vengeful avarice who or what was responsible, and what had happened to everyone that had lived there.

As Jake let his feet carry him where they would, he came to look with wonder on his own house, rising up in front of him. It was the only one on the block, actually the only house he had seen yet that was still mostly intact. He walked slowly up to the door. He grabbed the handle, not knowing exactly what to expect when he opened the door, and pushed the front door open. The slight force was apparently more than the broken-down door could handle, though, as instead of swinging open to allow a clear entry, it fell off its hinges onto the floor of the house, generating a loud _bang _and a rising cloud of dust.

Recovering from the slight surprise, Jake stepped cautiously over the threshold onto the fallen front door, and entered the house. The outside may have looked intact, but the inside of the house was a mess. The front doorway led him into the living room, which was a total mess. The walls were broken in places; half of the side wall had in fact come completely down. The furniture was now destroyed and spread across the floor. Heading through the ground-floor rooms of the house, Jake noticed that none were much better. The kitchen had been torn apart, every single item from inside the cupboards throws carelessly in every direction; the dining room table was split in two, and the chairs had been broken up and the pieces tossed haphazardly around the room. When Jake reached the stairs, he had no sooner put his foot on the first one than he heard a shrill, piercing scream resonating from the upstairs hall. Jake froze, recognizing it instantly.

"H-Haley?" he called somewhat weakly. Coming out of his daze, he sprinted up the stairs three at a time, determined to find his sister. Upon turning into the hallway, however, he stopped, stock-still. For on the ground in front of him, the first people he had seen all night, were his father, his grandfather, and his two best friends. None of them were moving the slightest bit, as Jake stared with horror at them all, knowing with a terrified, reluctant certainty that they were…dead. He wanted to run up to them, shake them, wake them up, but he found that no matter how much his mind screamed for action, his legs just wouldn't oblige. He felt as though he was about to collapse, all his being wanting nothing more than to just give in to the icy weight that was trying with all its might to pull him down, when he heard a sudden movement from down the hall. He glanced up, fearing the result, and saw his mother and Haley back slowly out of a room ahead.

Jake was instantly filled once again with the same fearful determination he always felt when faced with helping someone in danger. "Mom! Haley!" he called to them, but they didn't seem to hear him. They only backed farther to the wall, staring with frightened eyes into the room from which they had retreated. It was then Jake realized which room that was: his bedroom. "Hey!" he yelled, louder this time. "Guys! C'mon! What are you doing? We should get outta here!" Jake wasn't sure why, but he had a foreboding feeling that they shouldn't be there at that moment. He didn't get to wait for an answer though, for at that exact moment, a neon yellow beam of light energy shot from within his bedroom, hitting his mother square in the chest. Haley let out another piercing scream as their mother slumped to the floor, seemingly dead.

Jake's body was drained of all energy once again, as he watched this happen, heard his younger sister's agonizing scream. He wanted to run, to be anywhere but here, just so he could be spared of the awful proof of what was happening before his very eyes. When Haley screamed again, however, he returned to the present, determined to save his sister from the same fate. He tried to run toward her, but found not only that his legs wouldn't move, they _couldn't. _It felt as though they had been replaced with immobile blocks of solid concrete. He turned frantically to Haley again.

"Haley!" he shouted, trying to get her attention. "C'mon! We've gotta get away from here!" Again, she didn't even acknowledge his presence. It was as though she didn't even know he was there. Jake turned instead to the doorway of his bedroom, silently demanding to know what lurked inside.

As if heeding to his cue, he heard a rustling sound from inside, and then emerged something Jake had not been expecting in the least.

It was a gigantic, vicious-looking beast, coated in long, blood-red fur. It had thick, powerful arms and legs, and long, grey, talon-like claws. Its mouth was open and drooling hungrily, saliva dripping sickeningly from the numerous rows of razor-sharp spikes it probably called teeth. Its hawk-like yellow eyes were glaring menacingly in the direction of the petrified eleven-year-old in the hallway, as she quivered in fright the monstrous being.

"_HALEY!_" he yelled yet again, praying that this time, she'd hear him. Again, she didn't. What Jake got instead was, to his alarm, the attention of the monster. It swiftly turned its head to stare right at him, freezing him to the spot. The moment the beast's evil, yellow eyes met Jake's, he felt a strange connection between them, as though an invisible rope had tied their gazes together, and he couldn't look away. Then, without warning, Jake's head exploded in pain as a wave of images began to flash before his mind. He saw this monster wreaking havoc on the city, relentlessly tearing down buildings and throwing still-occupied cars into each other. The beast showed no sign of anger or rage, in fact he seemed to be enjoying the wreckage he was causing. The sounds of crackling flames and people's screams filled Jake's ears, and he forcefully shut his eyes, his hands clutching his aching head, unable to take any more of these visions.

When he opened his eyes, he was back in the hallway, his head still throbbing painfully. The creature turned its gaze back to Haley in a slightly bored manner. It raised its hand above its head as its fist began to glow with the same piercing yellow as its eyes.

Realizing its intentions, Jake tried again to move, but found he could not. His mind flooded with fear, as his sister took a step backward.

At that exact moment, there was a bright, brilliant flash of yellow light, and the halls were filled once again with Haley's shriek.

"_NO!_" Jake screamed at the top of his lungs, pulling his arms to his face to shield his eyes from the blinding light. When the light subsided, he let his arms fall to his sides, but was hesitant to open his eyes. When he finally did, he found himself lying on his back, staring at his bedroom ceiling.

Jake quickly sat up, realizing he was in his bed, and out of the upstairs hallway. He relaxed considerably, knowing that this horrific experience must have been only a dream. He was still shaking and breathing heavily, and painful remnants of the visions still lingered in his brain. He glanced at the alarm clock beside his bed; it was only 2:37 a.m. He knew he should probably get back to sleep; he'd had enough late nights lately; but he knew that after that ordeal, there was no way he could fall asleep again, much less did he want to. So he slowly turned sideways to lean against the wall and pulled his knees up to his chin. He sat like that, his breathing slowing and the shivers subsiding, thinking solemnly until morning came.

* * *

And that's the end of another chapter. My oh my, whatever do these dreams mean? I liked this one, though. I don't know why, it was just fun. But I sure do got some good ones planned for the future...heh hee heh...

Till then, signing off.


	9. Connections

Alright, sorry this took a bit longer than usual, but with Halloween and all I didn't really have a lot of time to be on the computer. Here you go, though! Chapter 9 is finally here!

* * *

As Jake, Spud, and Trixie exited the school building the following day, Trixie looked around slowly, making sure the coast was clear, and, seeing that the other students were all too occupied with their own personal affairs, grabbed Jake's sleeve and pulled him to a free spot in the yard, a few feet away from the entrance doors, Spud in tow.

"Alright, Jakey, what's buggin' ya?"

Jake just shrugged at his two best friends, not sure whether or not to tell the truth. They, on the other hand, weren't about to let it go.

"C'mon, bro, you look worse than you did yesterday."

Trixie nodded. "Another late night?"

Jake sighed. "More like an early morning," he replied wryly. "I've been up since two-thirty."

Spud furrowed his brow in concern. "Why?"

"I had this weird dream last night."

"Oh, no," Trixie interrupted, putting a hand to her forehead. "Not another one of them psychic visions…?"

"No," Jake answered in an odd tone, as if he wasn't sure whether to be sure or confused. "At least, I hope not…" he added in an undertone. "This one was different…"

-0-0-0-

"And you couldn't do anything about it?"

"No," Jake replied, somewhat sadly. "I couldn't move, they couldn't hear me… It was… scary." He looked down, his mind racing once again with the visions of the nightmare.

"Any idea what it might mean?" Spud asked, his eyes distant in thought.

Jake shook his head. "I don't know. And… I'm not so sure I want to. What if it's like, some premonition? I've seen the past in my dreams, what if… now I can see the future?"

Trixie frowned. "You don't know that. Not all dreams really happen, you know." Jake nodded slowly, still not entirely convinced. But he didn't want to trouble his friends any more, so he decided to keep his mouth shut. "Did you say anything to your family yet?"

He shook his head, knowing the conversation had had to come to that point sooner or later.

"You should," Spud said in a serious tone.

Trixie nodded. "They might be able to help you figure things out."

"I can't," Jake answered, for reasons he didn't exactly want to discuss with his friends. Again, he didn't want to trouble them further than he already had.

"Why not?" she tried, but Jake just shook his head. "I think you need to tell them. You know they'd want to help."

Jake shook his head again, anger rising unexpectedly. "No," he insisted, more firmly this time. "Just let it go, guys."

"Come on, Jake," Spud attempted. "Stop being so—"

"_NO!_" As soon as he shouted, a sharp pain shot through his head. He clenched his teeth and hunched over slightly, a hand jumping to his head as he shut his eyes in an attempt to relieve the pain. Trixie and Spud looked at him with an odd, startled expression, before moving to his side.

"Jake," Trixie said, bending over to look at his face, as he slowly stood straight again, aches subsiding.

"You okay, man?" Spud asked, confusion and concern etching his tone.

Jake shook his head absently, trying to remove any remaining discomfort. "Yeah…" he answered uncertainly. "Yeah, I'm fine." He looked at them again. "I'm sorry," he said in an odd tone, still not quite sure what had just happened. One second, anger was boiling up inside him, the next, his head was pounding in pain. "I didn't—"

"Don't worry about it," Spud said, holding up a hand as Trixie nodded. "Don't wanna go down that road again, do we?"

Jake smiled at his best friends, before his mind zapped unexpectedly back to fill him with uneasy thoughts of the previous night, forcing his smile to vanish instantly. "It's just… Seeing everyone… It's hard enough to talk about it now. I don't know if I wanna do it again."

His two friends glanced at each other, seemingly communicating with their eyes. "It's okay," Trixie said calmly. "It's your decision."

Smiling again, Jake was about to say something, before he was unexpectedly cut off.

"Hey, guys!" a cheerful tone sounded from behind them. Jake turned sharply to see Ebony standing in front of him, waving enthusiastically, a bright smile on her face. Trixie smiled back at her, waving slightly, and Spud simply stared, not saying a word, or even moving.

Not really knowing what to do, but at the same time feeling grateful for the intrusion, Jake smiled back at her. "Hey, Ebony," he said in a friendly voice. "How've ya been?"

"Oh, same old, same old," she replied off-handedly. "You busy today?"

Jake thought for a moment, but before he could reply, Trixie decided to answer for him.

"No, he's free," she said, strolling casually to put her hands on his shoulders. "Why, have anything in mind…?" Jake shot her a significant look, as if to say '_What do you think you're doing?' _But she just shrugged innocently.

"Well," Ebony said, her expression brightening noticeably, "I was hoping maybe you'd like to go for a walk with me…?"

Trixie removed her hands from Jake's shoulders, pushing him forward a few steps. He looked over at Ebony, finding himself guiltily unable to refuse at the hopeful look on her face. He sighed. "Alright, sure."

Ebony grinned. "Let's go. See you two later!"

Jake turned to his friends, shooting Trixie a murderous look and glancing strangely at Spud, who still hadn't budged since Ebony joined them. "Bye, guys," he said dully, before following Ebony off the school grounds.

Through the course of their walk, Ebony had been very talkative, discussing everything from her favorite color, to what she and her dad had had for dinner the previous night (she apparently lived with only her father, but seemed adamantly unwilling to discuss the subject further), to last night's algebra homework. She took every chance possible to attempt to struggle a response out of Jake, but each time she turned to him expectantly, he would shrug off a half-hearted answer and prompt her to continue, which she would do for about a minute more before inquiring of him again. Finally, after a short period of silence, she turned to him yet again.

"Jake," she began in a different tone than before. "Is something… wrong?"

Jake shook his head, honestly surprised it had taken her this long to ask, but still gratified that she had cared enough to ask at all. "No," he replied vaguely, not wanting to drop any of his current problems on her. "Everything's fine. I'm just kind of… tired. I didn't get much sleep last night." He decided not to outright lie to Ebony, just not to tell her the entire truth. "I had this weird dream. It kind of kept me up."

"A dream?" she asked with interest.

"Yeah." He sighed. "I guess I haven't really been myself lately…" Now he was speaking more to himself than to the girl next to him, voicing his thoughts aloud. "Since a few nights ago…"

"Really?" Ebony wondered, concern in her voice. "What happened?"

Jake kept his head down, eyes downcast, as he solemnly kicked a small stone across the sidewalk. "Not to sound rude or anything, but I don't really wanna talk about it."

Ebony frowned, apparently thinking that wasn't a sufficient answer. "Problems with your family? Or your friends?" she guessed.

"Not exactly," he replied, simply but truthfully.

She sighed, seemingly taking the hint. "Alright, alright." She turned to him and smiled warmly. "But I just want you to know, if you ever need someone to, you know, talk to… I'm here." She took a step sideways, a bit closer to Jake than he normally would've been comfortable with, and discreetly slid her hand into his, glancing at him with a distinctive gleam in her emerald eyes.

It took Jake a moment to fully register what exactly was going on, and when his mind finally caught up with the rest of his surroundings, his head snapped up to look at the girl beside him.

"_Hey!_" he shouted, perhaps a bit more harshly than he intended, as he jumped back suddenly, yanking his hand from her grasp. He hadn't been quite sure exactly what had possessed him to act so rashly; it was as if his subconscious mind had been acting of its own accord, forcing him to overreact to this simple situation; in fact, now that he thought about it, Jake realized that he had had this same feeling during his earlier conversations with Spud and Trixie, when he had also acted strangely. He wondered briefly if there was a significant connection, before remembering the events at hand. He looked up at Ebony, about to apologize, but stopped when he noticed her gazing at him oddly, her green eyes narrowed in curious suspicion.

"…What?" he asked slowly, a feeling of mixed confusion and nervousness coursing through him. She narrowed her eyes further, and spoke in an accusatory tone.

"Why did your eyes flash yellow just now?"

Jake wasn't sure exactly what he had been expecting her to say, but this certainly wasn't it. "W-what?" he replied lamely, at a complete loss for words. How had his eyes turned _yellow? _"They…they did…what?"

"When you jumped back," she answered, her accusing tone and suspicious glare never faltering. "Your eyes flashed yellow, like you were… angry…" Her gaze drifted momentarily off into space, her expression showing she was deep in thought.

"Maybe… you were just… seeing things?" Jake suggested slowly, thinking that was the only possible explanation. Apparently this was the wrong thing to say, though, as was made clear when Ebony snapped back to reality to glare in Jake's direction, causing him to flinch slightly. Her emerald stare was so sharp and intense it sent chills down his spine.

"I wasn't _seeing things,_" she countered icily. "It _happened_." Her gaze shifted slowly to the bandages that still covered the burn on his arm, the ends of which were not covered by his sleeve. Her eyes widened suddenly, as though she had just remembered something she shouldn't be reminded of at that particular moment. "Where did you get that?" she demanded in a serious tone.

"G-get… what?" Jake replied, unable to think of a good excuse and hoping whole-heartedly that maybe she would just let it drop. Instead, she took a step toward him and grabbed his forearm, yanking his sleeve up and pointing an accusing finger at the bandaged wound.

"_That!_" she stated forcefully.

"Oh, heh heh… That…" he began, thoroughly confused, startled, and a little afraid by Ebony's sudden constraining behavior. "It's just a burn. An accident at home…"

Her eyes narrowed again as she let go her tight grip on his arm, studying him carefully. After a pause, she spoke again, slowly this time, as if choosing her words carefully. "Where were you two nights ago?"

At this unexpected question, Jake immediately paled, feeling his insides churn and freeze. Two nights ago had of course been the night that three-headed reptile had attacked Central Park, when he had gotten the burn on his arm. But there was no way this girl could possibly have been there. _No one _had been there. And even if by some slim chance she had seen the fight, he had been in his dragon form the entire time; there was no way she could know it had been him. He knew he needed to say something, rather than give himself away, but was miraculously saved from the trouble when, to Jake's immense relief, sprinting toward them came none other than Brad Morton, on what was quite possible the only circumstance Jake could actually be happy to see him.

"Yo… Eb… Ebony…!" Brad greeted, panting heavily, as he hunched his back slightly, a hand over his stomach. He was clearly out of breath, probably from running so far, but he quickly regained his composure and straightened up, giving Ebony a gleaming grin.

"Erm... Hi, uh... Brian, was it...?" Ebony clearly felt she had better things to do than speak to this jock at the moment.

"It's Brad, actually," he replied, seeming unfazed by her not knowing his name. "But close enough. Anyway, now that I've finally caught up with you, how would you like to come and hang with the Bradster?" He puffed his chest a bit, like he always did when trying to impress a cute girl, as Ebony simply raised an eyebrow in annoyance (which was also usually the response). "Instead of wasting your time with that loser anyway," he added half-heartedly, jabbing a finger in Jake's direction. This time, however, Jake didn't mind, and found himself hoping that for once a girl would fall for Brad's stupid act.

"Actually, I was—" Ebony began, but was cut off abruptly.

"No, don't bother answering," Brad interjected haughtily. "I already know what you're thinking." Wiggling his eyebrows and grinning distinctively, he grabbed Ebony's hand and guided her away from the spot she had been standing in. She tried to protest at first, but soon gave up, seeming to not really care what happened, and let Brad lead her where he would.

Jake smiled and shook his head in amusement, contemplating the possible torture Ebony had unknowingly let herself get dragged into. But he couldn't help but worry about the events that had just taken place. First he gets angry yet again and acts uncontrollably, then Ebony says his eyes had turned yellow, then she starts asking odd questions about that night two nights ago. He had and odd feeling that everything strange that had happened in the past few days, from Ebony's arrival to the attack on Central Park to the subconscious indignation hiding in the back of his mind, was all connected somehow.

Deciding not to dwell on it too much at the time, he turned around slowly and began walking at a moderate pace toward his grandfather's store, resolving to keep this under his collar for the time being. Try as hard as he might, however, he just couldn't shake the dark feeling of foreboding that lurked in his very skin, his mind warily, though absolutely, certain that the near future held in its shadowed wings a dark plot, and an even darker secret…

* * *

Another short one, I know, but I don't like to make my chapters too long. And hey, it does take longer to update that way.

Please review, if you so desire, and I'll be back hopefully soon with the next installment!

-oMM


	10. Dangers

I got this up in less than a week! Yay! But I'm gonna tell ya now, I'm gonna be kinda busy over the month of November, so I dunno how frequently this'll be updated. But don't worry! I won't let things get too far out of my control, so rest assured. Anyway, here's Chapter 10!

* * *

_Ding!_

Jake ignored the ring of the small bell atop the door to the electronics shop as he entered, striding straight over to the sofa by the wall and collapsing onto it.

"Jake? That you?" he heard Fu Dog's voice sound from the back room. He didn't answer, believing that they knew full well that it was him; after all, it wasn't like anyone ever came in to _buy _anything.

A few seconds later, his grandfather emerged from the back room, looking tired and slightly annoyed. Fu Dog followed.

"Rough day, kid?" the shar-pei asked him, glancing at him wearily.

Jake just shrugged, not wanting to get into too much detail. "What about you guys? Find anything?" he added with a hopeful note.

Lao Shi sighed. "I am sorry, Jake. We have been hunting all day, and have not found even the slightest hint as to what happened that night."

"It looks like that guy, whoever it was, either completely made up the spell it used, or found one so old there's no public record of it. Either so old, or so dangerous…" Jake's eyes widened at that thought, and Lao Shi quickly shot Fu Dog a look, telling him he probably should've left that part out. Fu Dog smiled sheepishly, before turning to Jake again. "Eh, but what do I know, right? I'm sure there's nothing to worry about." He smiled encouragingly, but his eyes told a different story. Besides, Fu Dog was unofficially their go-to guy for information on anything magical. If anyone _would _know, it was him.

"You don't have to keep anything from me, you know," Jake began heatedly, that subconscious anger in the back of his mind slowly rising to the surface. Apparently, it didn't like being lied to.

Fu Dog glanced at Lao Shi worriedly. "It's not that, Jake. It's just that—"

"It's just _what? _You didn't think I could handle it?" He knew he shouldn't be reacting this way, they were just concerned for him, but still he found yet again that he couldn't control the words escaping through his mouth. "Well, I've got news for you two: _I'm not a little kid anymore! _I think I can deal with a little bad news!"

His grandfather reached a hand out slightly, but Jake took a step back. "We know that, but—"

"Really?" Jake interrupted in a disdainful tone. "Cause I'm not so sure you do." All the while he spoke, he stepped closer and closer to the two in front of him, as they worriedly stood their ground. "In case _you _haven't noticed, I've been through a lot in the past few years. A lot more than most people my age, anyway. I've been forced to grow up faster than I should have; I've taken on all the extra responsibility _you guys _have shoved on me, and I haven't complained about it. Now for once _I _need _your _help, _and you're treating me like a little kid!" _He was right in his grandfather's face now, glaring him down, wanting to just stop, but finding himself unable to. "_STOP LYING TO ME!_"

At this, Jake's head exploded in pain again, and he cried out loudly, stumbling back a few steps and bringing both hands to his head. He squeezed his eyes shut and clenched his teeth, as Lao Shi and Fu Dog started in surprise.

"Jake-!" Fu Dog began, but Jake held up a hand to keep them from coming any closer.

"No!" he shouted, refusing to look at them as the pain began to slowly subside, his anger giving way to shame and regret for overreacting yet again. "I… have to go." Still not looking at them, and still holding one hand to his head, he picked up his school things and headed out the door, before either of them could say another word.

Shock still waving through them, the two remaining figures simply stared after him, not knowing whether to go after him or not. Fu Dog turned slowly to Lao Shi, confusion etching his face and voice, as another thought crossed his mind. "Back there… Was it me, or did his eyes turn…yellow?"

Lao Shi looked at him, wearing the same confused expression. "You saw it too?"

Fu Dog didn't answer, as both simply turned their gazes back to the door Jake had just exited, knowing now that they needed, more than anything, to find out what exactly was happening…

As he walked home, Jake's mind buzzed with a million different thoughts. He was still ashamed for yelling at his grandfather and Fu Dog like that, and for the similar events of the past few days. But more than anything, his mind still lingered mysteriously on his dream the previous night. He was tired of worrying about it, and felt he had exhausted every possible explanation or outcome. The only thing that still troubled him was the connection he had felt to that giant, red monster. He just couldn't put it into words or even solid thoughts. But he still felt, somewhere inside him, that that too was connected somehow to everything that had happened recently. And though he knew it was childish, all he now wanted was for it all to just go away.

Upon reaching his house, Jake opened the door and trudged inside, slamming it behind him grudgingly. He was about to head up to his room, when Haley hurried up to him in that excited manner in which she lived every moment of every day. She was struggling with a big stack of school books, and glancing hopefully in Jake's direction.

"Hey, Jake?" she began in her light, innocent tone. "I have to do this project for English class. Can you help me?"

Jake didn't look at her, and resumed walking toward the stairs. "Why do you want my help?"

Haley looked at him strangely, as if he had just asked her what color the sky was. "Because you're my brother. You're supposed to help with these kinds of things. Besides, Mom says it'll be good for you; she says you could use a little extra time spent on school work, too, so—"

"Haley," he interrupted her, coming to a halt and looking at her for the first time since the conversation began. "I'm sure you'll do fine without my help."

She turned to face the kitchen. "Mom?" she shouted. "I told you he'd say no!" Jake rolled his eyes in annoyance, wanting this to end so he could get upstairs.

"Jake, help your sister," their mother said sternly, emerging from the kitchen as she dried a dinner dish in her hands.

Jake turned to Haley again. "You don't _need _my help," he stated with a final tone.

"Yes I do!" Haley insisted.

"Yeah, right," he scoffed angrily. "You're better than me in everything else. I'm sure you'll manage just fine."

"What?" Haley asked, cocking her head to one side. "I'm not better than you. I want your help."

Jake sighed. "Just let me go, okay? I got stuff to do." He didn't actually, but he just wanted to get out of there to the comfort and solitude of his own bedroom.

"Please, Jake?"

"No."

"Please?"

"_No._"

"Please?"

"_No!_" If she asked one more time…

"…Please?"

That was it. "_NO!_" Subconscious anger taking over again, Jake grabbed the stack of heavy books in his sister's hands, startling her a bit, and threw them forcefully across the room, where they slammed into the wall with a loud _thud _and fell to the floor in a heap. Trying his best to ignore the pain in his head, Jake quickly turned and ran up the stairs before either Haley or their mother could say a word. They just stayed there, staring in shock at the spot where the books had collided with the wall, where they had left a long, deep dent formed by the sheer force by which the school books were thrown. Haley's mind was running on overdrive, trying to comprehend the situation at hand. She didn't hear the dinner plate fall from her mother's hands and smash on the hard-wood dining room floor. All she could think about was how she, like many others recently, had sworn she'd seen a tinge of golden-yellow flash before her brother's eyes, just as he grabbed the books from her hands…

Later that night, Jake was lying on his back on his bed, an arm under his head, staring at the ceiling. He had been in that position for hours, trying hard to decipher and organize the thoughts buzzing though his mind. He was once again feeling that now-familiar feeling of regret and shame for that afternoon (it had also occurred to him that he had felt this way more in the past few days than probably the rest of his life).

At that moment, he heard a gentle knock on the door. He sat up slowly, listening.

"Jake?" It was his mother. "It's dinner time. Why don't you come on down?"

It seemed strange to Jake that they would even want him there after what happened, but still he answered, "Uh, no, thanks, Mom. I'm… not really hungry."

There was a pause. "…Alright. Just come down later if you get hungry, okay?"

"Okay." He heard her footsteps retreating from his door and descending the stairs. He hadn't lied to his mother, he really wasn't hungry, but for some reason it still felt like a lie. Jake hated lying to people, even for a good reason, such as when he couldn't tell Rose why they couldn't be friends, and he knew that not telling the whole truth was just as bad as an outright lie. After all, he hadn't told his mother the whole truth. Really, he was afraid to face his family. He knew he should go and apologize, or at least say something, but he was unsure how. He knew they would begin to act differently around him, and he didn't want that. But something in him was, at that very moment, pushing him to act. He wasn't sure quite why, but he slowly swung his legs over the side of the bed and rose to a standing position. As he walked silently across his room, through the door, and into the hall, he felt as though his legs were moving of their own accord, like he was sleepwalking, only he was awake.

When he reached the top of the stairs, he heard a voice flutter up from the dining room below.

"He said he wasn't hungry. I wasn't going to force him to come down."

Jake froze at the top of the stairs, just out of sight of the people below, as he listened to his mother's words. They were talking about him…

He heard a sigh. "I must admit I am worried." This voice belonged unmistakably to his grandfather, and it took Jake a minute to remember he was supposed to be joining them for dinner that night. "I spoke with his two friends earlier, and they bared the same news. He has gotten angry at them twice over the past two days; their stories are very similar to mine."

Jake thought a moment. His grandfather had talked to Trixie and Spud? Was he really that curious about the situation?

"I am worried," Lao Shi continued. "What if this has something to do with—"

"Okay, Dad," Susan cut him off abruptly, apparently not wanting him to go any further. "Jonathan," she now addressed her husband. "I think I left the potatoes in the oven. Would you go bring them in, please?" Jake realized that his mother was making an excuse to get his father out of the room; they had still not yet told him the truth about their family. Jake heard a shuffling sound from underneath him, and knew his father was getting up and leaving the table.

Lao Shi continued in and undertone, so Jake had to strain his hearing to hear what they were saying. "We believe this has something to do with the event two nights ago."

"The attack on Central Park?" Haley whispered, the first she had spoken. Jake didn't hear his grandfather reply, and assumed he had nodded in agreement.

"Fu Dog and I are trying all we can to find out what happened, but our search has yet come up unfruitful."

"You can't find anything?" his mother asked, an edge of fear and worry in her voice.

"As I said, we are trying. And we will not give up." He paused. "But I am beginning to worry we might run out of time…"

"What do you mean?" Jake found himself wondering the exact same thing.

He sighed. "As demonstrated by the event today, Jake is becoming uncontrollable, maybe even by himself. If this keeps up much longer, he may become a danger to himself and to those around him." Jake slowly took a step back, realizing with a guilty pang that this was completely true. He knew the subliminal animosity in the back of his mind had been growing ever-stronger, and was getting harder for him to control.

"But…" Haley began in a tone of slight disbelief. "Jake would never hurt anyone! Especially any of us!" Jake found himself feeling strangely grateful to his little sister for sticking up for him, though he knew she was wrong. If he couldn't control himself, there was no telling what he could actually do.

"Don't worry, honey," Susan said comfortingly. "We'll figure out what's wrong. Nothing's going to happen to Jake, or anyone else." Oddly, Jake felt consoled by her words as well, and began to believe that they just may find an answer after all.

"All we need is a miracle…" Lao Shi added, the almost-hopeless tone of his voice completely reversing the effect of his mother's in Jake's mind.

"Dad—" his mother began again in a reprimanding tone, but she was unable to finish her thought.

"Dear, I don't think the potatoes are in here…" his father said from the kitchen.

His mother sighed. "I'm coming." Jake heard her get up from the table. Feeling he had heard enough, he turned and crept silently back to his bedroom. Upon closing the door, he went back over to his bed and lied back down on top of it, feeling as though he wanted to cry but no matter how much he willed them the tears just wouldn't come. Instead, he just lay there, for how long he was unsure, not allowing any unwanted worry or stray thought to penetrate the soft comfort of the inside of his troubled and fearful mind.

* * *

Shortness, I know, but the next few chapters are gonna be pretty eventful, so they'll probably be a bit longer in comparison.

See ya then!

-oMM


	11. Setups

First of all, the title doesn't really mean anyone's being set up. It just means this is a short chapter that I'm using to set the scene for the next chapter, in which the first big storyline event will take place.

Alrighty, sorry for the wait. I was at a religious retreat all weekend (Thursday after school to tonight, Sunday night) and I didn't get much chance to actually write. But I decided to post this nice short little chappie now instead of waiting longer to post a long one.

So, Chapter 11!

* * *

_BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!_

Jake slowly rolled over and reached a hand out to hit the _'Off'_ button on his alarm clock, which was flashing _7:30. _He sat up and let his mind wander, his gaze boring into the wall opposite his bed but his eyes not really seeing it. He then shook his head, ridding it of unwanted worries, and got up to dress for school.

As Jake was about to head downstairs, he strode past the desk in the far corner of his bedroom. Something caught his eye. Upon walking over, he carefully picked up the old newspaper clipping he had discovered in the _History of Mythology _book a few days ago, the one displaying the article about his dream. He began to read through it again, for what was likely the gazillionth time, when he heard his mother call his name from somewhere below him, informing him that he was running late. He quickly pocketed the clipping and headed hastily out the door.

-0-0-0-

_October 3_

_Hey! Guess what? It's the big day! I'm finally gonna get the final ingredient I came here for! I know I probably shouldn't be, but I'm skipping school to devise a plan with the Huntsclan for our capture of the dragon. (I was able to convince them that the spell I'm going to use on them takes time to prepare, especially for more power… I guess when you're that hungry for power, you tend to be a bit gullible.) Well, I'm running a bit late, so I really better go. Wish me luck!_

_Ebony_

-0-0-0-

"Hey! Hey, Jake!"

Spud and Trixie sprinted to a halt in front of Jake, determined to get his attention.

"You've been avoiding us all day, bro," Spud said, as Jake attempted to sidestep around his two friends. "What's going on?"

Jake shook his head. "I don't really feel like talking," he answered vaguely.

"Uh-uh, baby boy, you ain't gettin' off that easy this time." Trixie put a hand on his shoulder to keep him from escaping.

Jake's eyes flashed angrily at her, and she let go of him in surprise. He then pushed past them and kept walking.

"C'mon, Jake," Trixie tried again. "We just wanna help you."

Jake stopped walking, his back to them. "Help me?" he repeated, a false calmness in his voice. "You wanna _help me?_ Then why'd you go crying to my grandpa about everything?" Trixie and Spud just looked at him, unsure of what to say. "Were you _'worried about me'_, like everyone _else?_" He finally turned to face them, and they saw he was, once again, growing angrier by the second. And what's more, his eyes were steadily glowing a fierce, burning yellow. "You know, of all people, I thought maybe you guys would understand. But I guess not. Haven't you ever _thought _that maybe I have enough to worry about, too? Maybe I just wanna be _left alone?_" Spud and Trixie looked at each other distressfully, recognizing the growing familiarity in Jake's current tone of voice, as their friend smiled derisively. "You're always trying to _'help' _me," he went on, his heated tone never dwindling, nor his voice showing any sign of relent. "Well in case you haven't noticed, every time you wanna help, you just end up _making it worse!_" His two friends flinched noticeably in surprise. He turned to Trixie. "I know you _think _you're being all concerned for me, Trix, but really, I can handle _myself._ All I really want you to do is just, for once, _back off!_" Trixie's brow furrowed in confusion and hurt, and she couldn't find any words to say to Jake.

Spud, on the other hand, felt as though he had to say something. "Come on, Jake—"

"And _you!_" Jake began again, rounding on Spud with a glare of his saffron-colored eyes. "_You _think you mean well too, but every time you try to help me in battle, you just end up _making things worse!_" Spud just stared, unsure of what to do. "You know what guys?" Jake asked them rhetorically. "All you really _ever do _is _hinder me! You guys think you're helping, but in reality, you're only making everything worse! Why don't you just do us all a favor and GET LOST?!_"

If anything rendered Spud and Trixie completely speechless, that was it. Subsequently, this also seemed to be the high point of Jake's rant, as he brought a hand rapidly to his head and closed his eyes, shaking his head stiffly. When he looked at them again, his eyes had returned to their normal color, and they were noticeably filled with a fearful gleam.

"G-Guys?" Jake said uncertainly, the same frightened tone etching his now quiet voice. "I—"

"—Don't" Trixie interrupted, holding up a hand and turning away from him, her eyes shut tight and brimming with tears.

Jake's eyes widened as if in confirmation of his fears. He took a careful step forward. "…Trix?" She took a step back, still not looking at him. "…Trixie? I'm sorry—I—I didn't mean—It's just this—I don't even know what—" Jake just kept trying to speak, but nothing was coming. Trixie just shook her head ever-so-slightly; it was almost unnoticeable—almost. She then straightened up, and turned confidently in Jake's direction, her teary eyes catching his frightful ones in a stony glare.

"You know what, Jake? You've been all outta whack lately, yellin' at us all the time, yellin' at everyone. I don't know what's up with you, but there ain't no way I'm gonna sit around any more and let you say this stuff to me."

"But—" Jake began, seeming desperate for another chance to prove that he was sorry. "I didn't know what I was saying! You don't understand—It was like I couldn't control the words coming out of my mouth!"

"Yeah, yeah," Trixie began, waving her hand in a heated, off-handed manner. "Whatever. You still said it. And you know what? I don't hang with people when all they're gonna do is dis me." She turned to Spud. "C'mon, Spud, let's got outta here." She turned to leave, but Spud hesitated, glancing nervously between his two best friends.

"Wait!" Jake shouted, reaching a hand out to Trixie. "I'm sorry! What do you want from me?"

Trixie didn't answer, instead just turned her head away, stomping brusquely down the sidewalk.

Jake turned desperate eyes on his other best friend, who was gazing after Trixie, still seeming hesitant. "Spud, you believe me, don't you?" Spud turned to face Jake, confusion and hurt evident in his eyes. "I would never say anything to hurt you guys!"

Spud just shook his head slowly, his eyes now gleaming with sadness. "But you did," he stated simply, his quiet, melancholy tone hitting Jake straight in the heart; this tone was worse than Trixie's words of regret and disdain; it held more emotion, more sadness, more hurt. And as Spud turned silently to follow Trixie, all Jake could do was stare after him.

His eyes threatening unwanted tears, Jake turned swiftly on his heel, sprinted into the nearest alleyway (which happened to be about four feet in front of him), changed into his dragon form, and leapt into the air, feeling as though at that moment he needed to be anywhere but right there. He shot off into the cool air, his destination unknown to him. In his rapid escape, he didn't notice Spud turn one last time from a few steps away, and watch with a painful regret as he glided off into the distance. And as Jake sped off in the direction of the forest, one simple thought rang through his mind, so quiet he felt its sorrow and pain, so loud he couldn't escape its truth.

_What have I done?_

* * *

Alrighty then; Ch. 11 is finito. Thank you all for reading, and yes, I'm sorry for the shortness. But hey, shorted chapter equals shorter wait, right?

-oMM


	12. Captures

HIIIIII! Yeah, okay I know it's been like, over 4 months, and I'm really really really sorry for being so delayed with this thing. Honestly, I've been telling myself to get on with this for a long time now, but now that I'm back on the ball hopefully I won't go on any more random hiatuses in the future.

One thing, when I said this would be the first big storyline event, I didn't really mean that. I didn't mean to say 'first' event; it's not the first. Just more important stuff. So don't worry, it's not like this is gonna be like, 30 chapters long actually. I'm probably about halfway done already. But don't quote me on that, cause I'm not entirely sure how long this is gonna end up being.

So, without further ado, here's the next chappie! And again sorry it took so long.

* * *

As he flew through the dense trees in a fast-paced fury, Jake tried to think of something – anything – other than the looks on the faces of his two best friends as they'd turned away from him not five minutes ago. Their hurt expressions and voices were haunting him still, no matter how hard he tried to forget or convince himself it wasn't his fault. He felt like he was running away, and in a way he was. As he thought about it, albeit reluctantly, he came to the conclusion that this curse – whatever it was – was slowly taking hold of him, and he had to stop it, before it drove everyone he knew away from him.

Just as he was dwelling on this distressing possibility, something hard swung out in front of him, smacking him hard in the face and knocking him to the ground.

As he rubbed his aching forehead and forced himself up on his shoulders, he heard laughter sounding above him. Glancing in the direction of the sound, he saw – not at all to his surprise – the Huntsman standing a few feet away, laughing at him. Rose, garbed as Huntsgirl, stood a few feet to the side, her staff outstretched (Jake dew the conclusion that it had been her staff that he had collided with).

"What're you goons doing here?" Jake demanded in a bored sort of tone as he got to his feet. The Huntsman stopped laughing as he looked at Jake with what was likely a glare, but was indistinguishable from beneath his mask.

"It pays to be polite, dragon," he said scathingly. "But if you must know, we are here to finish this charade you have been playing for the past three years."

"Oh really?" Jake scoffed. "If you haven't been able to catch me before, what makes you think you can do it now?"

Rose smirked and glanced toward the edge of the forest.

"Because," the Huntsman stated, "this time…"

He gestured toward the trees at which Rose was glancing. Jake squinted into the darkness as a figure slowly emerged from the shadows. A figure in a dark, hooded cloak…

"…we have a wild card."

-0-0-0-

As Trixie stormed on a little ahead in an angry silence, Spud trudged slowly behind her, thinking all the while whether it was right to react the way they did. The things Jake had said… It hadn't been his fault. Lately, he couldn't control what he said. Now, afterward, Spud was feeling bad. What kind of friends were they to not forgive their friend? He apologized, didn't he? They should've stuck by him

"Trix?" Spud began cautiously. _Maybe she's cooled down a bit…_

She halted and turned suddenly, her eyes still fierce. "_What?_" _Or not…_

Spud flinched a bit at her tone, but looked her in the eye nonetheless. "Don't you think we were a bit harsh back there?"

"Why? You heard what he said to us."

_This is gonna be tough… _"Yeah, but still. He's our friend. We should've—"

"Friends don't say those kinds of things to each other," Trixie interrupted, crossing her arms across her chest.

Spud sighed. "You know Jake well, right?"

"Well, I thought I—"

"You _do._ Now would the Jake you've always known ever treat a friend like that?"

She paused a second, her expression softening. "No…"

"Exactly," Spud said, his voice getting stronger now that he saw Trixie had stopped shouting and glaring. "It's this curse thing… whatever's going on with Jake lately. It wasn't him talking back there. He doesn't really feel that way." Upon seeing Trixie's skeptical look, he added, "And he _did _apologize."

She looked up at him again, this time regret in her eyes. "Friends… are supposed to forgive each other…"

Spud nodded slowly.

"Aw, man…" Trixie sighed, looking down. "You're right. We did mess up." She looked at Spud. "What do we do now?"

"We find Jake and fix this." With that he turned on his heel and headed straight for the forest. Trixie followed without question, both of them thinking hard of what they'd say to Jake when they found him.

-0-0-0-

As Jake stared at the hooded figure emerging from the trees, a thought hit him almost as hard as Rose's staff had.

"Hey… You're that guy from the park the other night… The one that sent that lizard thing!"

"Heh…" the figure replied. "'Guy', huh? It seems you aren't nearly as intelligent as these two made you out to be." Jake ignored that snide comment for the time being, instead noticing that the figure's voice was that of a female. What's more, it sounded to Jake slightly familiar, but he couldn't quite place where he's heard one like it.

"Okay, 'girl'," Jake corrected in a slightly mocking tone. "So, why are you working with the Hunstclan?"

"Well," she began thoughtfully, though slightly mysteriously, "we've formed a…mutually beneficial partnership. You see, we both need you."

"Me, huh?" Jake began, formulating a plan in his mind. "Well sorry to disappoint you, but it looks like you'll all be goin' home empty-handed."

With that he lunged at the figure, but Rose got there first. She deflected his kick with her staff before aiming one of her own at his side. He quickly glided upward to dodge the attack, instead grabbing her outstretched leg and swinging her in a circle, then letting her go. She agilely flipped in the air, landing in a crouch on the ground.

"You're holding back, dragon," Rose observed in an angry tone. True, Jake hadn't ever fought her with his full strength since finding out who she really was. But this time, Jake couldn't help but notice he wasn't the only one not really fighting this battle.

"So are you," he shot back. "Come on, Huntsgirl, I thought you were better than this."

She smirked at him. "I'm not trying to beat you," she said smartly as she aimed another kick at his torso, one which he easily dodged, watching her land on her feet in front of him. "This time, I'm just the distraction."

"What?" Before what he could place what she meant, he heard a shuffling behind him. Not thinking, he turned quickly, setting eyes on the hooded girl, who raised a hand to her chin and blew a handful of some golden dust directly into Jake's face. The effect was immediate. As the dust caught in his throat, he felt an immense wave of exhaustion wipe over him, and he felt himself falling backward toward the earth, darkness closing in.

-0-0-0-

"Any sign of him yet?"

"No…"

Trixie and Spud had been weaving a path through the dense trees, searching for their friend. Much to their dismay, the search had so far come up fruitless.

Just then, a rustling sound was heard a ways off to their left, causing them both to halt suddenly. They looked at one another, and without a word they both fled off in the direction of the sound.

As they got closer the sounds became more frequent. It sounded as though there was a fight going on. They weren't too worried about it; they knew Jake could handle himself. But there was always a chance… To be honest, they, along with the rest of his family, were very wary to let Jake fight battles alone.

When they were almost into a small clearing, and just when they saw the faint outlines of about three or four figures ahead, the sounds stopped. Trixie and Spud sped up, and finally burst through the trees. The sight before them was a strange one.

Two of the four people in the clearing were the Huntsman and Rose, both of whom turned abruptly to look at the intruders upon their entrance. The third figure in the clearing was a dark, hooded person whom they had never seen before, and who also turned to face them in an annoyed and surprised manner. The fourth, of course, was Jake, who lay motionless on the ground in the middle of the clearing.

Before Spud and Trixie could react in any way to the scene before them, the hooded figure reached into its cloak and pulled out a fistful of something. It then threw down its fist, releasing a thick cloud of red dust, which caused Trixie and Spud to bring their arms up over their faces to shield their eyes from the powder. When the dust cleared and they lowered their arms, all four people in the clearing had gone.

* * *

Well there it is. Chapter 12. Hope it was at least somewhat worth the wait. But don't worry. This is gonna get good pretty soon. So stick with me please, and don't forget to review!

-oMM


	13. Revelations

Okay, I'm really, really, _really_ sorry about how long this has taken. Life's been hectic the past few months and I didn't mean to crawl into a hole and die, or whatever happened. Well, without further babbling, Chapter 13!

* * *

"Come on, old man, there was no way _that one _was my fault!"

"Oh, yes it was. If you had not knocked over that display case, I would have been able to catch them!"

"No way! That gig was a disaster from the start!"

"How would you know? You did not even show up until they were halfway to the exit!"

"Really," interrupted the annoyed voice of the third presence in the room, "I don't know how my brother can spend so much time around you two and not go insane. I'm ready to walk out already and it's only been five minutes."

Fu Dog jumped down off of the counter and walked toward the girl on the couch. "I guess Jake's just used to it. But don't worry. As long as he's around, you shouldn't have to deal with us for a while."

Haley shook her head and looked at the ceiling. "I'll keep my fingers crossed." She turned her head to glance out the front window, but frowned at what she saw.

"Something wrong?" her grandfather asked, noticing her change of expression.

Haley pointed out the window. "It's Trixie and Spud. They're—"

But she didn't need to finish her sentence, for at that moment, Spud and Trixie burst through the door, completely out of breath, looking as though they had just sprinted the length of the city.

"What's going on?" Fu Dog asked as Trixie sank to her knees on the carpet floor.

"Jake…" she tried to explain in between gasps for breath. "He was—, He was—"

"—captured by the Huntsclan!" Spud finished for her, causing Lao Shi and Fu Dog's eyes to widen and Haley to let out an audible gasp.

"What?" she interjected. "How?"

Trixie waved her hand as she continued her attempt to catch her breath, willing Spud to take over.

"We don't really know. Us and Jake… We had this fight, and Jake flew off. We went after him a little later, following him into the woods. We looked a while, but didn't find anything at first. When we heard some noise ahead, we ran to check it out. That's where we ran into the Huntsman and Rose, and some weird hooded guy. Jake was there too, but he was lying on the ground, not moving. As soon as they saw us, the hooded guy threw some red powder on the ground that formed a big cloud around them. When it cleared, they were all gone. There was nothing we could do. So we came here."

"Well it's a good thing you did," Fu Dog observed, a thoughtful look on his face. "Did you get a good look at that hooded figure?"

Trixie shook her head. "Not really. They disappeared as soon as we got there."

"Hm…" Fu Dog mumbled, thinking hard. He too, like Jake, was instantly reminded of the figure who had put the curse on Jake at the park the other night. When the others questioned him, he explained his suspicions.

"That is curious indeed," Lao Shi pondered. "And not good news…"

"Why not?" Spud asked, confused. "If we can make a connection, it means it should be easier to find this guy, right? Then we'll find Jake."

"Yes, we can only hope that is true," Lao Shi answered, still thinking hard. "Unfortunately we do not know nearly enough about this person, whoever they may be, to correctly discern where to look for them. But what I do know is this, and this is the part that worries me: there is a plot unfolding here, and a dark and dangerous one at that." Everyone else grew silent, the frightening reality of this idea thinning the air around them. "If it really was the same character that both cursed Jake and captured him," Lao Shi continued, "then we should have great fear of whoever is behind this." He paused, seemingly searching for the best way to transfer his thoughts to words. He took a breath, and continued. "The attack pattern this person has yet been using is one not primarily of strength in battle, but of strategy. This opponent is intelligent and skilled in ways that demand fear and respect in the magical world. For these reasons, I fear this battle of wits that lies ahead of us is no doubt to be a difficult one. We must think hard, and think ahead. But for now," he paused again, glancing at everyone in turn, as they stared back at him with determined, if slightly fearful expressions, "the task which demands our immediate attention is finding more about the mysterious curse which started all these troubles." Brow furrowed in thought, and finished with his speech, Lao Shi sat back in his seat, a hand massaging his forehead in a tired manner.

"Alright," Fu Dog took over, seeing that Lao Shi was finished talking. "Trixie and Spud, you two go back to where you saw Jake last and look for any clues you can find that might help us out." Spud saluted Fu Dog and Trixie nodded, before both turned and briskly headed out the door. Fu Dog then turned to Haley, who had looked no less distressed since the news that her brother had been captured. Eyes softening at the young girl's expression, Fu Dog spoke gently to her. "Haley, why don't you go home and tell your mom what's going on? She'll want to know, and maybe she can help us." Haley nodded solemnly, before slowly rising from the couch and making her way out of the shop, heading in the opposite direction of Spud and Trixie. Finally, Fu Dog turned to Lao Shi, who was still massaging his forehead in exhaustion and worry. "We'll find him," Fu Dog said resolutely, as Lao Shi raised his head. "And we'll stop this." Nodding, Lao Shi rose from his seat. Picking up with his instructions, Fu Dog finished, "And that leaves us to research this curse. Who knows," he added after a moment, as they headed toward the back room, in which was kept everything one would ever need to know about the magical world. "Maybe this time we'll get lucky."

-0-0-0-

It was almost unreal, Haley couldn't help but think as she made her way toward her house. This kind of thing never happened to Jake. He was a hero, he never lost a fight. True, he usually had Grandpa, Fu Dog, or his friends there at his aid, but the fact remained: this had never happened before, and it worried Haley greatly.

Upon reaching the front door of the house, Haley paused, taking a deep breath. She slowly opened the door, planning out what she was going to say. She wanted to make the situation sound as though it was under control, so as not to worry her mother too much. When she formed a plan, she entered the house.

"Mom?" she called, closing the door behind her. "You here?"

"I'm in the living room," came the reply. Following her mother's voice, Haley turned to her left and headed into the living room.

"Mom, there's been a bit of a problem. It's about Jake, he—" Upon entering the room, she halted her sentence, seeing her father sitting on the couch next to her mother. "Uh, hi Dad! What are you doing home?" she asked nervously, not wanting to give away her family secret by accident.

"I was done at work, so I decided to come home early," he replied. "Now what's this problem with Jake?"

Haley's mind raced for an excuse. "Oh, it's nothing, Dad. Just school stuff. Hey, Mom," she continued, before her father could inquire further. "Can I talk to you in the kitchen for a minute?"

Getting the hint, Susan rose from the couch, turning to her husband. "We won't be long, honey. Just some girl talk. I'll be right back." With that, they left him there, a puzzled expression spreading across his face. When they reached the kitchen and closed the door, Susan glanced back in the direction of the living room they had just left. "Oh, I hate lying to him like that. I've been doing it for too long."

"It was your choice not to tell him, Mom. And it'll be your choice to tell the truth too, when you're ready."

Susan sighed. "I know." She then grew serious. "So what's going on?"

Haley took a breath, readying her mind. "Okay, you know that hooded guy from the park the other night?" Her mother nodded slowly. "Well, he's back. And… he's got Jake." Haley stopped for a second, waiting to make sure her mother wasn't going to flip out.

"…What? What do you mean, 'he's got Jake'?"

Carefully, Haley recounted Trixie and Spud's tale of the earlier events, making sure not to miss anything important. When she finished by telling of her grandfather's speculations and Fu Dog's plans, she stopped and waited for her mother to speak.

"This isn't good…" Susan stopped, looking deep in thought, before beginning to slowly pace back and forth. "And still no news on what's going on?"

Haley shook her head regretfully. "No. At least, not since I left the shop. Mom, what are we gonna do? According to Grandpa, whoever this guy is, he really knows what he's doing. We have to find Jake soon, before—"

At that moment, the kitchen door burst open, and in stormed her father, an angry and confused look on his face. "Alright, that's it. You're keeping something from me, I know it. I've had suspicions for years, but now, I know it's true. Now someone has my son somewhere and you weren't even gonna tell me? I thought we were a family!"

The two girls stopped dead, staring at the man in front of them. Susan was the first to speak. "How much have you heard, just now?"

"Everything. I knew there was something wrong when you two left me out there so I came over here to listen and find out. Now I want you to tell me what is going on!"

"Okay, Jonathan," Susan continued, straightening herself up. "We'll tell you the truth." Haley looked at her mother, but didn't say a word. She knew her mother was finally ready to explain, and all she could do was watch and hope for the best. "But," Susan added, "we should go back into the living room. You're gonna want to sit down for this."

Looking still slightly confused, but at the same time seeming relieved that he would finally be getting filled in, Jonathan led the way back into the living room, taking a seat on the far chair. Susan and Haley sat on the couch.

"Okay, it all started back before we met…"

-0-0-0-

"…And that's why Haley didn't want to say it in front of you," Susan finished. "It would lead to questions we couldn't properly explain." She looked at her husband, reading his face for any sign of emotion. When he looked up at her, his eyes showed not hate or remorse, but confusion and maybe even sadness.

"I don't understand," he began. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

"Isn't it obvious?" she answered. "I was afraid you'd think I was a freak, or rather, that our children were…" She glanced at Haley, who had just reverted back to her human form. "Still, you don't know how hard it's been for all of us, lying to you. I'd wanted to tell you for so long, but I never found the right time, or I was afraid. Though I can say that I really wished it wouldn't be under these circumstances…" She looked down, all of them knowing that she was referring to the current situation of the fourth member of their family. She had always hoped they could all tell their father together… Not like this…

"Well," Jonathan began in a business-like tone, clapping his hands together and sitting up straight. "What do we know about this 'hooded figure'? If we're gonna save Jake, we need to know what's going on."

The two girls looked up at him in surprise.

"You mean, you're not mad?" Haley inquired, a wide smile spreading across her face. "And you don't want to leave us?"

"Haley," he said in a softer voice, moving to sit between the two of them on the couch. "We're a family. And families stick together. I love you guys, and nothing—not even you being a completely different species—is gonna change that." He put one arm around each of them and they all shared a giant group hug. Susan looked at her husband and smiled at him, saying 'thank you' with her eyes. He smiled back in a way that clearly stated, 'I meant what I said, and I promise, this—right here—will never, ever change'.

"Okay," Haley began as they separated again. "There's really not much we can do right now. Grandpa and Fu Dog were going to do some more research when I left them. I don't know if they found anything yet."

"Why don't you go back over and find out?" Susan suggested hopefully. "It's been quite a while. Maybe they've made a breakthrough."

Haley stood up, nodding in an obedient manner. "I'll be back with any news I find."

"We'll be waiting," her father said, nodding in turn to her. And without another word, she turned and headed out the door, hoping with all her heart that her grandfather and Fu Dog had been successful…

-0-0-0-

"This is hopeless," Fu Dog said, throwing aside yet another useless book. It landed in a pile behind him of about thirty or so similar ones.

"Now, now," Lao Shi replied, leafing through a considerably larger book with an emerald binding. "We mustn't give up hope. What we are looking for must be here somewhere…"

Fu Dog sighed, picking up yet another large volume, this one coated in purple leather, bearing silver lettering on the front cover. "I just hope Trixie and Spud are having more luck than we are…"

-0-0-0-

"We're not having any luck at all," Trixie complained from her spot on the ground. They were back in the same small clearing, and she was currently searching the forest floor for anything out of the ordinary.

"Come on, Trix," Spud said from his perch atop a nearby tree branch. "We gotta keep looking. There's bound to be _something_—Hey! Look at this!"

Trixie looked up into the tree to see Spud examining a crumpled up piece of paper with writing on it. "What is it?" she asked, walking into the center of the clearing.

"It's Tuesday's History homework," he replied in a puzzled tone, scratching his head. "Think it's a clue?"

Trixie shrugged. "It's better than nothing."

Spud examined the paper again. "Hey," he began slowly, squinting at the bottom right corner. "There's something written here…"

"Well, what's it say?" Trixie demanded.

"I don't know… It's not in English."

"Give it here," she said, holding out her hand. Spud let the paper fall down to her, before climbing back down to the earth below. She glanced at the corner. "Huh… We should take this back to the shop. It may be worth something after all." She turned to go, but slipped all of a sudden and fell to the ground. Spud rushed over.

"You okay?" he asked, helping her up.

"Yeah," she answered. "I just tripped on a rock or something." Looking down toward the grass, she saw a small glimmer of something gold amid the greenery. She knelt down to pick it up, and found that the object she had presumed to be a rock was actually a small, glass vial. Inside it was a tiny sample of a strange golden powder, held in by a wooden cork at the top. She showed it to Spud, who looked at her and smiled.

"Let's get back to the shop. This stuff has gotta help."

Trixie nodded as they began jogging back through the trees. "I just hope Jake's holding out, wherever he is…"

-0-0-0-

A flickering light… Shuffling footsteps… Soft whispering… A dull _clink_…

Slowly, Jake was becoming aware of his surroundings. He had yet to open his eyes; the exhaustion was taking its time in wearing off. He remembered the events from earlier, the confrontation in the forest… Then his mind was blurred. Though having no idea where he was, or how long he had been unconscious, he did recognize that he was in an upright position (although having no knowledge as to how this was so) and that he was not alone in the room.

After a few minutes, he heard the soft shuffling of footsteps yet again, and the unmistakable sound of a door opening and closing. Silence followed. Figuring he was finally alone, Jake mustered his strength to slowly open his eyes and look around.

He was in a dark, underground chamber, as evidenced by the walls and floor, which seemed to be covered in dirt, as though the room was cut out from beneath the ground. There were no windows, which would make sense if the room really was underground. The chamber was lit instead by a number of time-worn, yellowed candles hung on the walls by rusted, old-fashioned candelabra. There was a single brown door on the side wall, the handle of which was chipped in a few places. A long table was lined against the wall opposite the door. On it were set a number of small, glass vials of diversified shapes and sizes, filled with various substances of several different colors. An opaque, glass bowl was set in the center of the table; it was filled with something unidentifiable, and what looked like steam was slowly emanating from it.

After his senses were fully restored, Jake realized that he was held up against the wall by dark, metal shackles clamped to his wrists and ankles. They looked as though they were loosely attached to the dirt wall, but when he tried to pull himself free, the chains wouldn't budge. He even tried breathing fire on them (he was at least relieved to find that he was still in his dragon form), but all that did was heat the metal to the point where it burned his skin. He quickly abandoned that tactic.

At that moment, the wooden doorknob turned and the door creaked open. From the room beyond entered first the cloaked woman from the wooded clearing, followed by the Huntsman and Huntsgirl. Almost immediately, they turned to Jake, seeing him awake and alert.

"Ah," began the hooded figure, "So you've decided to join us at last." Not answering her, Jake instead yanked on one of the chains binding him yet again, a last attempt to free himself. "Don't bother," she scoffed, watching him, a humor in her voice which led one to believe she was smirking under her hood. "Those chains are made of a strong iron-titanium alloy that won't break so easily, and will absorb your fire breath. And I even added my own touch of magic to assure that they don't pull loose from the wall behind you." She then set the vials she was carrying down on the table and walked up to Jake. "I must say I'm disappointed," she began, a sort of mock-lamenting tone to her voice. "After the way these two," she gestured toward the two Huntsclan members by the wall, "talked about you, I expected you to be more of a challenge. I guess I was wrong." She laughed mirthlessly, as Jake, still refusing to answer her but unfortunately unable to move, breathed out a jet of flame in her direction. She waved her hand in front of her effortlessly and the flame was extinguished before reaching her. "Then again," she added with a smirk, "Not many can challenge me." She let out another croak of laughter, moving to the side table as Jake eyed her strangely.

"What do you want?" he finally spoke up, his voice sounding somewhat cracked from lack of use.

She turned to look at him, before walking up to him again. "It's quite simple, really. I want what everyone else wants: power." Jake could almost hear the venomous smile in her voice. "But for my spell to be complete, I need one thing more." She paused as Jake eyed her suspiciously. She then lowered her head in a dark and menacing fashion, before saying, "The blood of a dragon."

-0-0-0-

_Ding!_

The bell above the shop door rang shrilly as Trixie and Spud strode in hastily. Haley stood quickly from her place on the couch as they entered.

"Any luck?" she asked them hopefully. "Grandpa and Fu Dog are still looking, but they haven't found anything yet. We're getting anxious." As she spoke, Spud and Trixie could clearly see the worry evident in her eyes, and were even more hopeful that what they'd found would help.

"Well," Trixie began. "We found these things." She and Spud brandished their found evidence in front of them as Haley came over to look.

"Grandpa!" she called to the back room. "Fu Dog! Trixie and Spud are back! They found something!" Lao Shi and Fu Dog reentered the front room, dusting themselves off.

"Alright, let's see what you've got here," Fu Dog said as he walked up and took the vial from Trixie's hand. He examined it closely. "This powder definitely has some magical qualities, but I can't tell what it does just by looking at it. I'm gonna have to examine this better."

Lao Shi then looked at the sheet of paper Spud was holding. "Yes," he said when Spud showed him the strange writing. "I believe this is written in ancient Greek. Unfortunately, I am not learned in all of the ancient languages, and ancient Greek is an uncommon one at that. I will ask you three to do whatever research you can – use anything you can find in this store – to find out what this says. It may be a vital clue. Fu Dog, come." With that, the two of them headed off toward the back room to analyze the magic powder. Haley turned to Spud and Trixie, a determined gleam in her eye.

"Well, let's get started."

She headed straight toward the large, wooden bookcase at the side of the room, the other two following right behind her.

-0-0-0-

The hooded woman was standing hunched over the side table, carefully mixing together the contents of some of the various vials. Jake was still trying his best to make sense of the current situation. But of all the questions that may have plagued him, one stood above the rest. And the way he figured it, why not voice it?

"Hey, Hunts-chumps," he called, causing the two Huntsclan members to look his direction. The Huntsman growled slightly at the use of the old nickname. "Why are you helping this girl? I thought you guys preferred to 'work alone'."

The Huntsman seemed to consider a moment before speaking. "Well, we might as well tell you. Soon it'll all be over anyway. She's promised us the power we need to finally finish the task of defeating you." He chuckled darkly at the thought.

"Ha, yeah right," Jake scoffed. "You haven't been able to slay me for the past three years, what could possibly do it now?"

"You wait, dragon," the Huntsman threatened. "When this is over—"

"Actually, he's right," came the voice of the hooded girl as she turned to face the crowd. The Huntsman turned to look at her, seemingly taken aback. "Oh, that's right!" she said with mock surprise. "There's one little detail I forgot – I took some insurance measures after I found out you were going to double-cross me." The Huntsman and Huntsgirl looked alarmed. "That's right, I found out. I just put a… simple curse on the dragon. One that, when it takes its final toll, will make sure you won't be able to defeat him so easily." She paused and giggled evilly. "Sorry I… _forgot_ to mention it." The Huntsclan members both growled audibly, but did not advance on their enemy. Jake, on the other hand, was more confused than ever.

"A curse?" he asked vaguely. "What kind of curse?"

The hooded girl turned to him. "You mean you haven't figured it out yet?" she asked, seeming genuinely disbelieving. She laughed again. "I really _did _overestimate you. But no matter. Anyway, what fun would it be for me if I told you now? I think I'll let you… figure it out for yourself. But be warned – you're running out of time," she finished in an amused voice, laughing mirthlessly yet again.

As she turned back to her table, Huntsgirl began advancing on Jake, her staff held ready. "Well, if the 'deal' is off," she said in a scornful tone, "then this gives me the perfect opportunity to slay you once and for all, and end our age-long toil."

The hooded girl stepped forward. "I don't think you want to do that. I still need him."

"Give me one good reason," Huntsgirl said, still drawing closer.

"Strike, Huntsgirl," the Huntsman was saying. "Now!"

"No!" the hooded girl was shouting at the same time. "Trust me, you'll regret it!"

Jake was still helplessly stuck to the wall, feeling as though his fate was hanging in the air in front of him. He had to say something, anything to stop the girl in front of him. So he said the first thing that came to mind…

"Look – Rose, wait!"

…Unfortunately, Rose's name was likely the last thing he _wanted_ to say. Luckily, this at least had the effect of freezing everyone in the room, all of them staring at Jake and Rose.

"W-What did you say?" she stuttered, eying him suspiciously through her mask.

"I-I said… uh…" Jake attempted to backtrack, but was unable to think quick enough.

"How do you know my name?" Rose asked, surprise evident in her voice.

Jake's mind raced for an explanation – one that wouldn't end in his getting slain – but was still unable to come up with a good excuse. So he decided reluctantly that the truth was likely the best way to go. Sighing, he looked her in the eye. "Because I know _you_, the _real _you. And…" he took a deep breath before continuing. "…You know me, too"

"What?" Rose went on. "What are you talking about?"

Jake looked down, as if thinking, before looking back up at her. "You really wanna know?" he asked as a last precaution. No one moved. Even the cloaked girl seemed interested now. "Okay…" With that, Jake allowed his dragon form to fade away, replacing itself with his well-known human form (As he did so, he was surprised to find that the shackles binding his wrists and ankles seemed to shrink with his arms and legs, further forbidding escape).

Rose's eyes widened even further as she took a step back, her arm falling lax at her side. "…Jake?" she questioned, clearly shocked. Jake simply smiled a bit and shrugged. "But… How?" Just then, Jake could've sworn he'd heard a gasp from beneath the cloaked girl's hood. He looked toward her, and was contemplating saying something, when the Huntsman spoke.

"Well? What are you waiting for, Huntsgirl? He is defenseless! Finish him!"

Rose simply shook her head ever so slightly. "I… can't." Her staff fell from her hand as she took off her mask. She backed away even further, her eyes never leaving Jake's.

The Huntsman glared at her. He stepped forward to stand beside her, facing her. "One should never put personal feelings before duty. You bring shame to our family." She turned quickly to look at him, as he raised his arm and struck the side of her face. She cried out in pain as Jake shouted angrily, "Hey!" Rose stumbled back away from her uncle.

"Enough!" shouted the hooded girl, whom they had all temporarily forgotten about. They all looked at her, but she seemed to be staring in Jake's direction. She took a step toward him. "It's you…"

"What?" he started, a confused look on his face.

"All this time…" she continued, as if he had not spoken. "It was you…"

"What are you…" Jake said again. "Do I know you?"

She chuckled shortly and somewhat hollowly, before raising her hands and, as everyone watched with baited breath, slowly pulling back her hood. Underneath it was the face of a pretty girl about Rose's height, with dazzling green eyes, a smooth, pale complexion, and sleek black hair. Jake and Rose both gasped.

"_Ebony?_"

* * *

Well, that's it for this. I'm gonna get right on the next chapter real soon so I don't go on a weird three-month-long unexplained, unprecedented, unwarranted hiatus like that last – what – three times…?

And in case you were wondering, Wednesday (July 11th) is my 17th birthday (yay!), and I'm making it a goal to get another update by then so you can all review for it and wish me happy birthday! (But you know, that's no reason not to review now, either…)

See ya soon! (really, I mean it this time)

-oMM


	14. Stories

Okay, sorry this is a bit later that I said last week. But I was a bit busy all week. And it didn't help that my sister was on this computer almost 24/7, so I didn't really get much time to write. But I'm here now, and it hasn't been a whole week yet (almost, but not quite). Hey, you should be proud of me. It wasn't three or four months like last time, right? Right…? …Oh well, I had to try.

* * *

Ebony smiled at them all.

"That's right," she said sweetly. "It seems none of us in this room have been completely honest as to who we really are. Funny what a small world we live in, isn't it?"

Jake's mind was racing. "So, that was you in the park that night?" Ebony nodded simply as Rose continued to stare. "But, how…?"

"It's a long story," Ebony said off-handedly, waving a hand as if to pass off the matter. "One we certainly don't have time for now. But let's just say I'm not exactly what you'd call… human." Jake stopped for a moment, trying to process this sentence. He opened his mouth to inquire further, but Ebony cut him off. "But enough about me." She then took a few slow steps toward Jake. "Let's talk about _you_."

Confused, Jake eyed her suspiciously. "Me?"

"Yes," she said simply. "Ironic, isn't it, that the one person I was most eager to get to know turned out being the _dragon_ I would curse, capture and manipulate? Huh… Go figure." She laughed innocently.

Jake's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean?"

Ebony smiled somewhat seductively, still drawing closer to Jake, who continued to eye her warily. Rose stood watching from the opposite wall, an angry glare in her eyes, though she remained where she was.

"It's a shame we're on opposite sides of the game board, don't you think?" Ebony said. "You would no doubt be a worthy addition to my… cause." She raised her eyebrows in an almost questioning manner, as if waiting for an answer.

Jake was pretty sure he knew what she was getting at, but he felt he needed to stall for time. "What exactly are you saying you want?"

Ebony's smile only widened ever so slightly. She stepped up to the wall next to him, and whispered in his ear, "You." Slowly she stepped back and looked into his eyes. "Join me," she went on as Jake continued to eye her sharply. "When the curse is complete, you and I will conquer the world in our name. All will bow to our combined power. We will be honored and obeyed through all eternity. Let us rule… together."

Her eyes gleamed with excitement as Jake looked away, staring instead at the ground beside them. His mind was racing. There was no more stalling, no more lying, no more avoiding. It was time to draw the line.

Ebony continued to glance at him, her eyebrows now raising in a hopeful gesture. Jake lifted his head again, looking her directly in the eyes. With the strongest voice and most determined expression he could muster, he locked his eyes on hers and said, "Never."

Ebony's eyes flashed angrily. She backed up, breaking their gaze and seeming to calm down. She took a deep breath and looked at Jake again. "Fine," she said in a voice of forced calm. "Have it your way." She then began to slowly pace back and forth. "But I still need your blood for my final ingredient, and my spell will be complete." She then quickly drew a dagger from beneath her cloak and turned to face Jake, whose eyes widened at the sight of the blade.

"Exactly how much blood do you need?" came Rose's slightly anxious voice from behind Ebony.

Ebony smiled. "Well, the recipe calls for only a little," she said simply, speaking to Jake as though he had asked the question. "But seeing as you refuse to cooperate, I think I may need a bit more power, don't you?"

"You're not gonna… kill him, are you?" Rose spoke up again from the back of the room.

Again, Ebony did not look at her. Instead she only shrugged. "Well, you know what they say: If I can't have you, no one will." She laughed her hollow laugh again, as Jake paled considerably and Rose gasped. "So being the merciful girl that I am, I'll give you one last chance: Join me," she smiled sweetly, "or face the consequences." Her smile vanishing as quickly as it had come, she heaved her arm and threw the dagger forward. It plunged into the wall mere inches from the side of Jake's head. He jumped and shifted out of the way, causing the old newspaper clipping to fall from his pocket where he'd placed it hurriedly this morning. Lowering her arm slowly, Ebony walked over and bent to pick it up. She smiled, seeming mildly interested. "Ooh, what's this?" she asked innocently, glancing at Jake before turning it over. "It—"

Upon seeing the article, she froze her speech immediately, her smile vanishing. Her head snapped up to lock eyes with Jake, a mixture of surprise, anger, and sadness in her eyes. "Where did you get this?" she demanded, her voice shaking. Jake opened his mouth to answer, but once again she cut him off. "Do you know what this is?"

Confused, Jake tried again to speak. "What's the matter with—" Ebony held up a hand to silence him. "Ebony—"

"This is my mother," she said quietly, looking down with sad eyes at the photo of the gorgon.

"Why are you—_What?_"

She looked up again. "My mother, Diadora."

"Your… _mother?_" Jake was more confused now than ever. "But… She's a—"

"I was born just outside this village," Ebony said, as if Jake hadn't spoken. "As I was growing up, my family and me… no one accepted us. Not even my mother's family. You know, even though portrayed as demonic creatures, most gorgons are generally peaceful and accepting, especially among each other, so I still don't fully understand why my mother's family shut us out. They banished my mother, forcing her to leave them and never come back. It was cruel, and even though I've never met them, I've hated them all my life." She looked down at the ground, sadness and anger in her eyes.

Jake looked at her. He was finally beginning to get to the bottom of everything that's been going on. "Why'd they banish her?"

She looked up at him, a serious look on her face. "For falling in love with a human."

"A human?" repeated Rose, as she stepped forward. Ebony turned to look at her, nodding in her direction. "A man named Gregory. He had been sent by his village to find and kill her and her family, but when he met her, he couldn't do it. She had done nothing to his people, and he knew that. They got to know each other in secret, and ended up falling in love. They kept their relationship under cover, fearing that their families wouldn't accept the…well…differences, until a time that they knew they couldn't keep it hidden any longer. Gregory's family was reluctant at first, but trusted him and was willing to give Diadora a chance. Her family, however, was much less accepting of the two lovers' union. They forbade her to ever see him again. She and Gregory, however, had no intention of ending what they had. So they continued to see each other in secret. It went on that way for a while without complication, until one day, when they discovered that Diadora was with child. It was then that they knew they could no longer hide their ambition from her family. So that night, Diadora and Gregory confronted them, and told them everything. Well, as you can imagine, her parents were furious. They absolutely refused to accept anything their daughter said. When Diadora threatened to run away with Gregory and never return, her parents went one step further and ordered her out. They left, though sadly, and all of Diadora's family severed all communication with her and never saw or spoke with her again. Three months later, Diadora and Gregory found an abandoned barn just outside the village, where they wouldn't be found, and settled down. It was there that Diadora had her child." Ebony paused and smiled. "And can you guess who that child was?" Jake and Rose, who had both been listening intently to her tale, knew exactly who the child was, though neither said a word. "Me," Ebony went on. "I was the only being in history to be born of a gorgon and a human."

"Then… why do you look human?" Jake asked slowly, glad to be finally getting some questions answered.

Ebony laughed, but not her usual hollow laugh. "You should see me when the sun goes down. I look anything _but _human."

That one confused Jake a bit, but he figured that was all she was going to say about it. Instead he brought up a different topic. "So… The article… Why did the villagers—"

"Execute her?" Ebony supplied, the sadness leaving her voice and the cold apathy returning. "Well, long story short, they weren't too happy when they found out it was her who'd been 'borrowing' small samples of their stock in order to support our family. They'd been hunting her for a while, and one night… they finally caught her."

The dream from the other night—the one that started all this—was drawn once again to Jake's mind. "I saw it…" he said in a somewhat distant voice. Ebony looked at him strangely. He looked up at her. "I saw that night… In a dream. That's why I took that clipping. I thought it was weird… that it actually happened. I guess it was true after all." Ebony looked down again, as if thinking. Jake shook his head as if to clear away remaining confusion. It seemed as though Ebony was finished with her tale, but the more Jake though about it, the more he realized he needed to keep her talking. The longer he could put off her plans, the better. "So… what did you and your dad do afterwards?"

"We moved around a lot, to escape, you know… This is actually my thirteenth home since that night. But it's also our last move. Here, now, I can finally get what I want." She looked back up at Jake, that dark, determined gleam in her eyes once more. "Now, the reason I came to this city in the first place."

Without warning, she strode right up to Jake once again and yanked the dagger from where it was still protruding from the wall. Jake jumped in surprise, as Rose shouted a protest from behind them. She tried to move forward, but the Huntsman held her back. Ebony then took a step forward, so her face was inches from Jake's. She smiled evilly and glared her eyes. "I'm sorry it had to work out like this, Jake. But no matter. You'll soon find… I always get what I want." Then she gripped the dagger in her hand and in one swift movement, cut a long, deep line across Jake's abdomen. He yelled in pain as she simply smiled at him, before stepping back and holding the dagger up between them. Her smile widened as the blood on it gleamed in the candlelight, reflecting in Jake's wide, pained eyes. She then strolled casually over to her table and stood over the bowl in the center. She held the dagger high and tapped the blade once, letting a drop of blood fall into the mixture. It sizzled a moment, then quieted, as a faint, silver mist began to drift slowly from within it. She then stepped back, a satisfied look on her face, and set the dagger on the table beside the bowl.

Rose, who had stopped fighting her uncle, stared at the scene in disbelief. "That's _it?_" she exclaimed.

Ebony shrugged. "That's it."

"Then… Why did you have to—" she looked over at Jake, whose head was hung low as he groaned quietly. The cut on his stomach was bleeding profusely, his red shirt now stained dark around it.

Ebony followed Rose's gaze. "Oh, sorry about that," she said in a voice that sounding anything but apologetic. "I guess my hand just… slipped." She chuckled slightly, the same mirthless tone lining her voice. "It's almost sundown now, and the spell needs to sit for twenty-four hours before it will work to its full potential, so I don't need you anymore." Jake slowly lifted his head to glare at her somewhat weakly, as she grinned again and muttered something under her breath. At that moment, the ground underneath Jake seemed to open up, revealing a green forest floor some eight or nine feet below. "It was great seeing you again, Jake," Ebony finished with a farewell wave of her hand. She whispered something inaudible once more, and the chains binding Jake to the wall vanished, causing him to fall with a shout of surprise through the newly-opened hole in the ground toward the forest floor below.

-0-0-0-

"Anything yet?"

"No, not yet."

Back at the electronics shop, the three were still attempting to find out what the mysterious writing meant, and without much luck. Needless to say, they were getting exasperated.

"You know, I'm beginning to think we're never gonna find this," Trixie said with a sigh as she sat down on the couch. Haley sat next to her.

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean I'm any more willing to just give up," she said. "I'm sure any minute now, something will just come to us."

Trixie threw her a sideways glance. "You've been saying that every fifteen minutes for the last hour. Don't you think that if there was something out there about this writing, we would've found it by now?"

"Well," Haley replied casually, "I like to think positive. You watch. We'll find something."

"I found something!" came Spud's voice from his seat at the computer table. Haley just gave Trixie a look as if to say, 'See?' Trixie just shrugged and got up from the couch. Together the two girls moved to stand behind Spud and look over his shoulders at the computer screen.

"'_Buried Spells and Forgotten Curses of the Ancient Grecians'_," Haley read the title of the webpage aloud. Her eyes scanning further down the page, she finally saw what they'd been looking for. "That's it!" she said, pointing a finger at the center paragraph of the page.

"_η δύναμη των ζωών δαιμόνων  
__και τώρα σας δίνει αυτήν την πληγή  
__η οργή θα σας καταναλώσει και θα σας γυρίσει ακατέργαστους  
__όλος άλλος θα φοβηθεί το δυνατό νύχι σας  
__δεν θα διακρίνετε το φίλο από τον εχθρό  
__και θα σκοτώσετε όλα αυτά πηγαίνετε ενώπιον σας  
__όταν βλέπετε μέσω αυτών των μισητών ματιών  
__καταστρέψτε μέσω όλης της αιωνιότητας"_

"That's the same thing that's written on this paper here!" Haley said excitedly. Finally, they were getting somewhere. "Does it have the translation?"

Spud scrolled down the page a bit farther. "Right here," he said aloud, before moving aside so they all could read it.

"_The power of the demons lives  
__And to you now this curse it gives  
__May rage consume you, turn you raw  
__Let all else fear your mighty claw  
__You will discern not friend from foe  
__And smite all that before you go  
__When through these hateful eyes you see  
__Destroy through all eternity!"_

"Whoa…" Spud said after they had finished reading. "Sounds dangerous…"

"Yeah…" Trixie agreed. "I wonder who would use a curse like this, and why."

"Maybe Grandpa'll have some ideas," Haley suggested, still glancing at the computer screen.

Just then, Lao Shi and Fu Dog emerged from the back room.

"We finished analyzing that powder you kids found," Fu Dog began. "It's a sleeping potion, a more powerful and complex one than we've ever seen. Just goes more to the fact that whoever this guy is, we're dealin' with some pretty tough stuff here. Don't wanna underestimate this one."

"Were you successful in discovering more about that writing?" Lao Shi asked.

"Yeah, we found it," Haley began.

"It's an ancient Grecian curse," Trixie supplied. "Here, read the translation." The three of them moved aside so that the other two could see the computer screen. After a moment, they stepped back again.

"It is, once again, as I feared," Lao Shi said solemnly, clasping his hands behind his back in thought. "It seems that every bit of information we discover about our opponent, the more dangerous he or she is revealed to be. If the one who was in possession of this paper and this vial was in fact the same person whom Jake and Fu Dog saw at Central Park the other night, then we are to assume that this curse is in fact the very curse that Jake is now victim to." There was an audible gasp from the three kids, as their expressions grew worried. "If this is true, and I am almost certain that it is, then we are yet a little closer to ending our troubles. So now, all we can do is focus on finding Jake and finding a counter-curse. Trixie, Spud, you were very successful last time. I ask you two to once again return to the forest clearing and search as hard as you are able; find something – anything – to help us. Go." Trixie and Spud both nodded slowly, before turning and heading out the door.

"And that leaves us to find a counter-curse," Fu Dog said, clapping his hands together in a business-like manner. "Haley, you look out here. Gramps and I'll head to the back." With that the two of them disappeared yet again into the back room. Haley sighed to herself, before turning back to the computer and beginning her search.

-0-0-0-

"You think we're gonna find anything this time?" Spud asked as he and Trixie reached the clearing.

"I don't know, but we'd better look fast. It's starting to get dark." They started by turning to the edge of the clearing and searching along the outermost trees in the area. They had hardly begun to look when they heard a crack from behind, followed by a familiar voice. They turned quickly to the center of the clearing to see Jake fall from somewhere above, landing on the soft grass below.

"Jake!" they shouted at the same time as they headed swiftly toward him. He stood up shakily, his back to them, just as they reached him.

"What happened, man?" asked Spud. "Are you okay?"

"I…" was all he said. He turned slowly to face them, and they saw that he looked hurt. He had both his arms clutched over his stomach, a dark red stain protruding from beneath them. His eyes were shut tightly, his teeth clenched in pain.

"Jake- Hey," Trixie began, "What happened?"

He opened his eyes to look up at them, smiling briefly, before all of a sudden collapsing forward. Trixie and Spud both caught him as he passed out, before laying him down carefully on the ground. Spud moved his arms and lifted up his damp t-shirt, showing them the long, deep cut underneath. He and Trixie looked at each other, and without a word they lifted him up, Spud holding under Jake's arms, Trixie carrying his legs, and staggered as quickly as they could back the way they'd come.

-0-0-0-

"You know, usually findin' stuff out is somethin' we're good at. How come this time's so different?"

"Perhaps," Lao Shi answered Fu Dog slowly, "it is because this time, we are much more outmatched. Our enemy is taking careful steps so that we cannot defeat him so easily."

"I can't believe this is happening…" Haley said somewhat sadly from her spot against the back room wall. She had recently come back to see if her grandfather had made any progress. "Things never happen like this…"

"Do not worry, Haley," Lao Shi said consolingly. "There is always hope."

Just then, they heard a muffled knocking sound from the front of the store, followed quickly by Trixie's voice shouting to open the door.

"It's unlocked, you know," Fu Dog answered.

"Yeah, well, our hands are kind of full at the moment," Trixie replied in an urgent voice. Fu Dog got up and left the back room.

"So you found more clues?" his voice asked from the front of the room. Haley and Lao Shi listened quietly, but stayed where they were.

"We found something way better," came Trixie's answer.

"Actually," Spud's voice said from outside, "it depends on how you look at it. I mean, this isn't exactly the way we would've wanted to find—"

"Alright, alright," Fu Dog's impatient voice interrupted. "I'm comin'." They heard the sound of the door open, before Fu Dog spoke again, this time his tone quieter. "Uh-oh. Uh… Gramps?" he called to the back room. "You better get in here."

Lao Shi sighed, before getting up and leaving Haley to return to the front. "What is it… now…" his voice trailed off at the sight before him, the sight of Trixie and Spud swiftly carrying his unconscious grandson into the room. "What happened?"

"We don't know," Trixie said as they laid Jake down on the couch.

"We were looking for clues," Spud continued, "when we heard this crack, and he just… appeared… out of nowhere. We went up to him, and he sort of… passed out. Then we brought him back here."

They all heard the door open as Haley began to enter. "Alright, what's going—" She froze upon seeing her brother, before running up and kneeling beside him. "What—?"

"We don't know," Trixie said again as Lao Shi walked over and lifted Jake's shirt to examine the wound. He then stood up and turned to face everyone, ready to once again give orders. They all waited and listened.

"Spud, Trixie – head to the side room and prepare a bed as quickly as you can. Do it on the floor if you must." They nodded and ran off to the side room. "Fu Dog – put together the best healing spell you can in the next ten minutes. Use anything you can find in the back, and when you're finished, administer it carefully." Fu Dog saluted in an obedient manner, before striding swiftly to the back room. "Haley – head back to your house and tell your parents everything. You've been gone quite a long time, and I am sure they are wondering what is going on. When you are through, bring them here. I wish to speak with them." Haley nodded briefly and turned on her heel, heading out the front door, leaving Lao Shi alone with Jake. He sighed solemnly, before turning to his grandson, and adding in an undertone, "And pray we find the strength to defeat this evil, before it's too late to stop it."

* * *

Aaaaaaaaaaaand, end Chapter 14! Well? What'd ya think? Please review and let me know, 'kay?

See ya soon!

-oMM


	15. Changes

Okay, first of all, sorry doesn't even begin to justify my yet another extended leave of absense over the past...what...six months? Yeah. But I'm still not willing to just forget about this story, so don't worry. I'm way too into it so I'm gonna keep at it even if it takes me till I'm thirty (though I really hope it doesn't take that long cause I just might lose a few of you guys before then). And I'm also sorry if you all completely forget what happened in that last howmany chapters; I know I did. I even had to go back a read most of em to refresh my memory so I could continue it right like I was originally planning.

Well, anyway, hopefully this is at least a little bit worth the six-month wait, though I don't know if anything really is, so I'm just really hoping you'll forgive me and stick with me here. I'm still tryin!

* * *

It was morning. The sun had just risen, and Ebony was in her room, contemplating what she was about to do. She knew it wouldn't be east for her, but it needed to be done. It was for his own safety, she kept reminding herself. He couldn't stay there; she couldn't lose him. Not when he was all she had left.

"Ebony?" her father called from the kitchen below. "You're gonna be late!"

"I'm coming, Dad!" she answered over her shoulder. She grabbed a small white something off her desk and headed out the door.

"Where are your school things?" Ebony's father asked when she entered the room.

Ebony shook her head. "I'm not going to school today," she replied.

He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean 'you're not going to school today'? I don't think that's—"

"Dad, I need you to take this," Ebony interrupted, handing him what she had taken from her desk. It appeared to be a simple, white envelope, with nothing written on either side. He took it slowly from her hand, still eying her suspiciously, and opened it carefully.

He pulled from the inside a single strip of paper. "A plane ticket?" he clarified.

"Your flight's in two hours," his daughter replied somewhat sadly. "You'd better hurry. Your things are all packed and in the car, I did it last night."

He stared at her, a puzzled look on his face. "I don't understand," he said. "This is a one-way ticket to Detroit. Why would we want to move to Detroit? Our house is here… We just moved in—"

"—_We're _not moving anywhere," Ebony interrupted again, her eyes downcast. "I was able to get you an apartment in the city, and I've talked with your boss. He's getting you a transfer so you'll still make the same salary and can work from there."

Her dad narrowed his eyes at her. "What's this about?"

Ebony sighed. "Things are gonna get real dangerous around here, tonight. You need to leave the city." He looked about to say something else, but she cut him off, thinking quickly. "Don't worry, I'll be following you soon." She hated lying to her father, but it was all she could do to convince him to take the ticket. She looked at him again, a serious glance in her eyes. "You know what I am; just trust me. I'll be fine here. You need to go."

He looked at the ticket, then at his daughter. "…I trust you," he said finally. "I'll go. Just promise me I will see you again soon."

She smiled the most convincing smile she could muster. "I promise."

He nodded, turning to the closet. He grabbed his coat, and without another word stepped through the garage door and was gone.

Ebony stared after him, her expression hardening with resolve. Now that she knew her father would be safely out of harm's way, her plan could move into full action…that night.

-0-0-0-

Steadily the feeling was returning to Jake's body as he lay, eyes closed, in a place he knew not where. As he slowly opened his eyes, he attempted to take in his surroundings. The room was dimly lit, probably so he could easily adjust to the light upon waking up, but he was able to recognize it as the side room of his grandfather's electronics shop. He was lying on what felt like a large pile of blankets, stacked to form a makeshift bed.

As he sat up a sharp pain shot through his torso, and as his hand clutched his stomach he felt not his clothing or even his skin, but what instead felt like gauze. Upon glancing downward he saw that he had no shirt on and that his abdomen was instead wrapped in off-white bandages that were stained dark red with dried blood. It was then he remembered the last thing he'd seen before waking, and what had happened in that dungeon-like room with Ebony.

Ebony… To think she had been behind these mysterious events all this time. When they had first met, she had seemed so kind and innocent. But it was all an act. Jake couldn't believe he had let himself be fooled that easily. But this wasn't over. Not yet.

Carefully Jake stood up, the pain in his stomach subsiding. A white t-shirt for him was folded and lying next to the makeshift bed. He put it on over the bandages, taking care not to strain himself too much. There was light coming from under the door, and soft voices could be heard coming from the other side. Still somewhat tired out, he slowly made his way over to the door, opening it to reveal his mother, father, sister, grandfather, two best friends, and of course Fu Dog, all of whom immediately stood up as he entered.

"Jake!" his mother said as she wrapped him in a hug, causing him to wince slightly in discomfort. "How are you? We've been so worried!"

Jake smiled as best he could as she released him. "I'm fine," he answered. "Just a little worn out."

"That's good," Fu Dog said. "Your folks here were starting to get a little anxious. You've been out for almost a whole day."

"A day…?" Jake repeated, thinking to himself. The words triggered some memory, something Ebony had said… _"…The spell needs to sit for twenty-four hours before it will work to its full potential…"_ That meant…

"…Jake?" Haley inquired, seeing Jake's eyes widen suddenly. "Is… something wrong?"

"I have to find Ebony," he replied, seemingly more to himself than anyone else.

"Ebony?" Trixie repeated, not sure she had heard him right. "What for?"

"You miss a date with her today?" Spud suggested.

Jake shook his head impatiently. "No—She's the hooded figure, the bad guy!"

"_What?"_ Trixie exclaimed as Haley gasped and Spud's eyes widened in shock.

Jake's parents and grandparents, as well as Fu Dog, all exchanged confused looks. "Who's Ebony?" Susan asked.

"A new girl at school," Jake answered off-handedly. "She seemed innocent enough at first, but it turns out it's been her who's—" Jake broke off suddenly, his eyes darting to rest on his father, who he believed was still ignorant of their history and the past weeks' events. "Erm…" he attempted to backtrack. "I mean…"

Jonathan waved his hand in the air, shaking his head. "Don't worry, Jake, I know all about you three and your dragon business."

Jake's mouth dropped open in disbelief. "What? You know?"

Jonathan nodded. "Your mother and sister told me after you were kidnapped by those… Huntsclan was it? So anyway, you don't have to worry about being all secretive around me. Just say what you need to say."

Jake breathed a sigh of relief before continuing his rushed explanation. He told them hurriedly of what he had learned in that dungeon room, from Ebony's false union with the Huntsclan to the story of her bizarre lineage. He also mentioned how it must have been she who put the curse on him. At the mention of the curse, however, the others in the room all exchanged significant looks, as if remembering something important.

Jake stopped talking and looked at them all. "…What?" he asked, in response to their glances toward each other.

"The curse!" Haley answered. "We finally found out what it does!"

"You did?" Jake said, glad that finally they were beginning to get some real answers.

"Sure did," Spud replied. "Here, look at this." He strode over to the computer and pulled up a web page titled _Buried Spells and Forgotten Curses of the Ancient Grecians_. Jake followed him and swiftly read the translation over his shoulder.

"You're… sure this is it?" he asked upon finishing, hoping that maybe they were mistaken. He wasn't exactly sure he liked the way it sounded.

"Yep," Spud answered. "Trixie and me found this written on a piece of paper that Ebony dropped earlier. This has gotta be it."

Jake straightened up and backed away from the computer, head downcast in thought. If that was truly the curse he was under, then it would definitely explain why he'd lashed out at his friends and family so often over the past few days. But it also meant that things were going to get much worse if they didn't find a way to reverse it soon.

"So… what was this spell Ebony was concocting?" Susan asked to break the silence and get back to business.

Jake looked up. "I don't know," he said. He then proceeded to tell them what Ebony had said about the spell taking time to prepare.

"So if it's been almost a day, then our time should be about up," Haley pointed out, a worried expression on her face.

"It was around 6:30 when you two brought Jake here last night," Fu Dog supplied, squinting into the distance to remember. "What time is it now?"

"It is exactly…" Jonathan began, looking at his watch. "6:18."

"It took us about ten minutes to get Jake here from the woods," Spud piped up. "That would start the twenty-four-hour time limit at about 6:20."

"So our time's almost up!" Jake exclaimed, running toward the door. "We have to find her now!"

The others followed him out the door, stopping right outside. The sun was setting, and the street was dimly lit with a golden glow. A cool autumn breeze made each person shiver as they exited onto the street.

"But Jake," Trixie began. "You don't have any idea where she is. What're you gonna—"

"I don't care," he interrupted. "I'll search the whole city if I have to."

"No need, kid," Fu Dog said. Jake turned to look at him. He was glancing up toward the roof of the shop. "There's something up there."

Without a word, Jake reverted to his dragon form and took off up the side of the building.

"Jake… wait!" Susan tried to stop him, but he either couldn't hear or chose to ignore her.

Jonathan, who had jumped a bit at the unexpected change, put a hand to his head to slow the surprise. "It's gonna be a while before I get used to that…"

"Come, Fu Dog," Lao Shi said, changing forms as well and lifting the dog off the ground. "We are not letting him try to fight her alone." With that, they were off after Jake.

"Dad!" Susan tried again, and again her cry fell on deaf ears. She sighed as those remaining on the ground turned back to the shop, deciding instead to wait inside.

Upon landing on the roof, Jake noticed that Ebony and the two Huntsclan members were indeed there, and it didn't appear as though they had done anything yet. Ebony, her hood down to reveal her black hair and green eyes, turned to face him as Lao Shi and Fu Dog landed on the roof behind him.

"Jake!" she said, giving him a dazzling, albeit completely fake, smile. "I was hoping you'd be joining us this evening."

Jake turned to the Huntsclan. "What are you doing here?" he asked them.

"We just arrived to stop her, same as you, actually," the Huntsman replied. "It seems for once we're on the same side."

"Well it's nice of you all to join me here, regardless of your reasoning. Care to watch the sunset?" Ebony asked in a somewhat mocking tone, gesturing to the setting sun behind her. "It's almost time, you know."

"I know about the curse," Jake said, ignoring her question.

Ebony smiled even wider. "Do you now? Well I must say it's about time. I was beginning to think you'd never figure it out." She let out a false giggle. "Isn't it an interesting one? It does no real physical harm to the one put under it. It instead attacks him emotionally. I'm sure you're experiencing it now, the feeling that you're becoming a danger to your friends and family." Jake's glare intensified as Lao Shi and Fu Dog looked at each other solemnly, hoping that Jake wouldn't let Ebony's jeering get to him. She giggled again, enjoying the anger she was sparking in her enemy. "Soon enough, you'll end up destroying all you care about."

Jake lowered his head, his mind racing with thoughts of the future he could possibly cause. No… he couldn't let that happen. "I'll find a cure," he said quietly. Ebony raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, really?" she said. "Well, I'm sorry to tell you but that isn't possible. There is no cure. Nor has there ever been one."

Jake looked up at her, not sure whether to believe her or not. "What?"

She shrugged. "That's one of the reasons I chose this curse. I knew it would be effective, and you would have no way of reversing it."

Jake's mind was reeling again. "You're lying!"

"No! It's true!" she shouted, her voice momentarily turning low and hoarse. She shot a quick glance over her shoulder at the setting sun. Taking advantage of the momentary distraction, both Jake and Lao Shi leaped into the air and dove at her from opposite directions. She turned just in time to grab each of their left wrists and fling them around to the other side of the rooftop, between her and the orange sun, which was just now lowering behind the buildings in the distance.

As the sky turned dark, Jake heard a low chuckle from behind him. He pulled himself up on his hands to see Ebony, who was smiling an evil smile as she gazed at the now deep violet distant sky. As they watched in horror, Ebony's body began to change. Her skin darkened to a deep onyx hue. Her form stretched as a pair of great, stormy-gray, feathery wings shot from her back, tearing the fabric of her cloak. Her hair began to wave as if blown about by an imaginary gust of wind, as its color slowly changed from black to blood-red. Then, though no one could tell when or how it had happened, in place of hair protruded from her scalp an unimaginable number of live, wriggling snakes, each one staring at the spectators on the roof with a pair of sharp, yellow eyes. When Ebony opened her own eyes, their emerald color seemed intensified. It no longer was striking and beautiful, but now piercing and terrifying. All the others could do was stare as she stretched her wings and shook her head in a bored manner.

"You…" Jake began, thoughts and memories flooding into his head. "That dream…" He was reminded instantly of the dream he had had in which he'd seen that man and the young gorgon girl being thrown out of various towns. "That little girl… It was you…"

"Oh, you had another dream about me?" Ebony asked in mock-flattery. "Wow, Jake, I didn't know you thought so much about me. I'm touched, really." She smiled, showing gleaming white fangs protruding from beneath her lips.

Jake glared as he rose to his feet. "So this is what you really look like."

"Yes, every night at sundown," she replied conversationally. "It's made things quite difficult for me and my father, as I guess you've seen. But now he's safe and away from here, and I can finally end this after so many years and get revenge for everything we've been through." She walked slowly past Jake and Lao Shi, who didn't attack her. Upon coming to a halt at the edge of the roof, her back to them all, she reached into her cloak and pulled out a small vial of something. As she uncorked it, a soft mist emanated from the opening. She held the vial up to the sky, looking at it with an excited grin.

"Finally…" she whispered, seemingly to herself, and drank the entire contents in one mouthful.

At once an ethereal glow seemed to emanate from her entire body. Her gray wings spread wide and grew a few feet longer. The snakes slithering around her skull all hissed violently as they too stretch in size, their elongated fangs gleaming in the moonlight. The cloak she was wearing morphed as well, growing longer to accommodate her size, and the back collar rising high to the back of her head. Lastly, a small orb of light appeared in the space beside her, and rapidly expanded until it nearly blinded those watching in awe. As the light subsided there was in place what looked like a tall black staff, topped with an elaborate sphere made of shards of glass of various sizes. The original orb of light seemed to reside inside.

As the transformation finished and Ebony admired her new form, Lao Shi's eyes widened in thought. He quickly lowered his head back to the ground, blocking his sight with his hands.

"Kid! Cover your eyes!" Fu Dog, who had done the same, shouted from behind Jake.

"What? Why?" he asked, turning frantically to look at the dog.

"Remember what I said about the most powerful gorgons?" Fu Dog hurriedly explained. "How they can turn you to stone just by looking at you?"

Jake instantly understood, and taking the dog's advice threw his arms in front of his eyes, just as Ebony began to laugh. A moment later, he heard a scream.

"Rose!" Jake shouted, recognizing the scream as hers. He lifted his arms ever so slightly, giving him just enough room to see Ebony's feet, which showed him she was facing them all. He then turned to his right, where Rose and the Huntsman had been. With the small line of vision he allowed himself, he was able to see what had caused Rose to react. For where her uncle had been standing was now erected a great stone statue, wearing the Huntsman's well-known mask, and Rose crying silently at his feet.

Then suddenly, a beam of light shot from somewhere to Jake's left, hitting the Huntsman's solid form directly in the chest, causing it to burst into millions of tiny particles, which rained down on the still shaking Rose.

Jake just stared. She had killed him. He hadn't even done anything yet, but still she had killed him. This proved it. She was definitely not the person he had thought she was. She was out to get what she wanted, and didn't care who had to go down along the way.

Ebony began to laugh, breaking the silence which had began to strangle those remaining on the roof. It was a cold, cruel, mirthless laugh. The sound broke Jake from his reverie. He clenched his teeth in anger, his arms lowering to his sides but his eyes remaining clamped shut. The curse was taking control again, but this time he didn't care. He wanted to stop that horrible laughter, no matter how it needed to be done.

With a feral growl Jake lunged at Ebony, something in him knowing where she was standing regardless of the fact that he couldn't see her. Catching her off guard, he felt his fist collide with what felt like scales, and realized he had hit Ebony in the side of the head, sending her sprawling backward to the ground. Her laughter stopped abruptly, replaced by a surprised and pained shout. Jake didn't dare open his eyes, knowing what might happen if he did.

Then all of a sudden, his body froze up. He tried as hard as he could to move his arms and legs, but neither would budge. He heard Ebony climb to her feet a few feet in front of him. She then began to chuckle again.

"Hey… what did you do?" Jake demanded, still unable to move his limbs.

She scoffed in reply. "You'd better not try anything like that again…"

Without warning, Jake felt his body involuntarily revert back to its human form. "What?" he exclaimed, thoroughly confused and now a little nervous. "How did you—?"

"…Especially now that you're defenseless," Ebony finished in a low voice. Next thing Jake knew, something had hit him hard in the stomach, bringing mobility back to his body and sending him flying backward, landing hard on the roof floor with a painful thud. Lao Shi and Fu Dog both reacted to the sounds they were hearing, but were unfortunately unable to act.

Jake groaned and slowly propped himself up on his elbows. He heard Ebony moving toward the edge of the roof.

"So sorry, everyone, but I'm afraid I've got to be going," she said with feigned regret. "Places to go, people to conquer, that sort of thing."

"Wait!" Jake shouted, reaching out a hand to stop her. He needed to buy some time, and maybe find out a bit of information along the way. "You finished your spell. Now what exactly is it you're gonna do?"

"It's simple, really," she replied. "First, as always, comes revenge."

"On who?" Jake asked, trying to keep her talking until they came up with a plan. He hoped his grandfather was taking advantage of this…

"If I told you, you'd miss out on all the fun of tracking me down," Ebony answered, a smirk in her voice. "But I will tell you this: my vengeance will end at the beginning."

"'End at the beginning'?" Jake repeated as he stood up to face the direction from which her voice was coming. "What's that supposed to mean?"

She chuckled again. "If you really want to stop me, you'll have to figure it out on your own. Whenever I'm in need of something, I start by retracing my steps. Maybe your situation's not so different. Oh, but you'd better hurry," she paused a moment. "That curse takes stronger hold of you with each passing moment."

At that, Jake stopped thinking of the reason he had kept asking her those questions. He still needed to clarify this most important point of all. "The curse… Is there… There has to be way to reverse it. And I'll find it. And stop you."

Not a second later there was a gust of wind and Jake sensed Ebony standing right beside him, her hand on his shoulder. He tensed as he felt her breath near his left ear.

"Sorry," she whispered in his ear, a cold tone in her misty voice. "But thanks to you, your friends' days are numbered."

With that, she backed away and took to the sky, her wings beating gently against the night air, leaving Jake in a state of shock, feeling more anxious about the future now than he had ever before.

Hearing Ebony leave the rooftop, Lao Shi and Fu Dog knew it was finally safe to open their eyes. They looked up to see her retreating form already a small speck against the night moon. In the center of the rooftop, Jake sank silently to his knees, his back to the two of them. They hurried over to make sure he was alright, coming to kneel in front of him. His dark eyes were wide in what looked like fear and his mouth was forming silent words. The two had not heard what Ebony had last said to him, but they guessed it had something to do with the curse.

"Jake?" Fu Dog chanced. "She's gotta be lying. They don't make curses that can't be broken. Trust me, I'd know."

Jake looked at them. "But what if… I-I could end up…" he broke off, his eyes falling to stare at the ground.

"Jake, listen to me," Lao Shi said, placing his hands on his grandson's shoulders. "This curse may contain evil beyond our understanding, but nothing could ever make you do harm to someone you love. We all know that. Somewhere inside, you know that as well. There is a cure. We'll find it."

"But what if we can't?" Jake shouted, his eyes flashing again. He was doing his best to try to remain calm, but it was becoming increasingly difficult. "She was right! This thing gets more and more control over me every day! How are we gonna figure out how to stop it if I end up killing you all before we get a chance?"

"C'mon, kid," Fu Dog said sternly. "That's not gonna happen."

"How do you know?" Jake returned, his eyes growing angrier by the second.

"Jake," Lao Shi said firmly. "Stop it!"

Jake clutched his head in pain. "I can't!" He brought his arm up over his head, looking as though he was about to strike his grandfather, but then his eyes squinted closed and his teeth clenched. His arm shook as he fought as hard as he could to bring it back down. "No…" he said firmly through clenched teeth. "I won't…let this…"

Lao Shi and Fu Dog watched as Jake fought his arm back down to his side. His other hand remained clutching his aching head as he breathed heavily. As his eyes slowly opened, the two were glad to see that they had returned to their normal color. But before anyone could say a word, Jake fell sideways onto the rooftop floor, unconscious. Fu Dog and Lao Shi looked at each other briefly before the old man, still in his dragon form, carefully lifted Jake off the ground and into his arms.

As they made to leave the rooftop, they noticed the hunched form of Rose, still kneeling by the pile of stone shards that had once been her uncle. Upon seeing her, both felt the same thought cross their minds.

"Rose," Fu Dog said as they walked over to her. "Why don't you come and stay here with us? You shouldn't be alone." She turned to look at them. She had stopped crying, but her cheeks were stained with dried tears. When she saw Jake's unconscious form in his grandfather's arms, her eyes widened. "Don't worry," Fu Dog continued, shaking his head. "He's just a bit worn out. He needs to rest a while, but he'll be fine." She nodded, smiling a small smile. She then stood up and leapt into the air, a glider forming from beneath her boots.

"Need a lift down?" she asked the dog.

He climbed shakily onto the back of her glider. "You know, I've never been too good at riding these things…"

"Hold on," she warned, as both she and Lao Shi took off down the side of the building.

Although this curse was a dangerous and evil one, Jake had been able to fight it off. And that gave the two of them hope. What Ebony had said was true; the effects were advancing more swiftly with each passing day. But Jake was strong. He would be able to fight it. And that alone gave them faith enough to keep going.

* * *

And there you have it. Wow, that was a long one. It was like ten pages I think. Heh, oh well. Hopefully you enjoyed it at least a little? Maybe?

I'll try my darndest not to wait as long as I did last time for the next one. Sorry again!

-oMM


	16. Whispers

(Gasp!) Its only been three months this time! Aren't you proud of me? I'm so excited! Chapter 16! Yay! This one's a short one.

* * *

Jake awoke later that night to find himself at home, lying on his bed. He figured someone must have brought him home. Slowly the night's events were coming back to him. The meeting with Ebony on the roof, her sudden transformations, her scathing words and warnings, it all was becoming clear in his mind. Glancing at the clock on the table nearby he discovered that it was 1:32 in the morning. Now that he was awake again he felt he needed to do something, so with the intention of sneaking outside to try and find Ebony before she caused any more trouble, he quietly crept out of bed and toward his bedroom door. He knew it would be best if he went alone. That way he could make sure no one else would be hurt. Either by Ebony, or himself.

Upon creaking the door open as silently as he could, he noticed something strange. There were lights on downstairs. But who would be up at this hour? Well, there was only one way to find out. So doing his best not to make a sound Jake crept quietly to the top of the staircase to investigate.

Kneeling down and peering through the railing bars, he could see into the living room, where the dim light was coming from. Sitting around the room were his parents and grandfather, speaking in hushed tones. He strained to hear their secret conversation…

-0-0-0-

"But you know as soon as he wakes up he's going to want to go after her," Susan pointed out to the others. "And there's no way we can let him. Not yet. He's not ready!"

Lao Shi closed his eyes in thought. "I know," he replied. "This enemy… She is unlike any we have faced before. I wish I knew a way to defeat her…"

"We'll think of something," Jonathan offered confidently. "All we have to do for now is make sure we keep Jake here. He can't go after that girl, especially not on his own."

"But he wouldn't really be stupid enough to try and find her alone, would he?" Susan wondered.

Lao Shi looked up at her, one eyebrow raised. "You know him. He would be convinced that fighting her alone was the only way to insure the safety of all of us, especially with his condition as of late. I think it is very possible that he would try and sneak off on his own."

Susan looked down, seeing her father's point. Jake was very protective of the ones he loved. Not to mention this curse he was under. His behavior was rapidly leaving his control, and the last thing he'd ever want was to cause harm to someone close to him.

"Well as long as we keep an eye on him everything will be fine," Jonathan reassured his wife. She smiled at him.

"But still we must hurry and find a solution," Lao Shi pointed out. "We are yet unsure what this Ebony is planning, and until we know we must assume that she is intending to act immediately."

The others nodded, understanding the gravity of their current situation.

"I should be going," Lao Shi said, sighing heavily and rising from his armchair. "I will let you know the moment we discover anything of importance."

Susan smiled. "Thank you. Goodnight." Jonathan nodded in agreement, and Lao Shi headed for the door.

"You're worried," Jonathan noted after the old man had closed the door behind him.

Susan looked up at her husband from her place on the couch next to him. "Of course I'm worried. How could I not be? You know what's happening, and it's looking like there's nothing we can—"

"Do you trust him?" Jonathan interrupted her.

Susan paused a moment. "What do you—?"

"Do you trust your son?" he asked, simply but firmly.

She looked down in thought, before raising her eyes to her husband's. "Of course I do."

Jonathan smiled. "Then don't you go worrying yourself. Jake's smart. And he's strong and determined. He can fight this thing, and you can bet your bottom dollar that he will, with all he's got." Susan smiled, knowing that he was right. There was nothing really to worry about. "Just believe in him, and in the others. We'll get through this. We always do."

"Wait a minute," Susan began, "what's this 'We always do'? This is the first time you've known what was going on." They both laughed quietly, sitting back on the couch, comfortable now with that moment, neither worrying about what would come later on.

-0-0-0-

Jake stopped listening at that point. They seemed to be finished talking anyway. As he walked back to his room, part of him wanted to be angry at his family for planning to keep him locked up, treating him like a child. But a bigger part of him knew they were right. It was foolish of him to try and go after Ebony now, alone, when he had no way of fighting her. He knew nothing, and yet he had still been willing to jump blindly into danger. And what's more, his grandfather was able to predict what he was going to try and do. It made him feel ashamed to know that it was obvious just how hasty and careless he could be. And it took his grandfather telling his parents this fact to make him see it for himself. But the point was that now he did see it, and it was another weakness that he could identify and remedy. His family was right, he knew as he lied back down in his bed. They would have to wait. They would get through this, as his father had said. They always did.

* * *

Yay! And so ya know I'm off school tomorrow and I plan to write more (if my keyboard stops freezing! Grr! It's seriously taken me almost ten minutes to write this sentence. No exaggeration.) so hopefully I can get another chapter up! And don't worry, the next one's more eventful.

-oMM


	17. Fears

Five months this time. Not my worst, but not by any meand good. But guess what? This chapter's really long! 5,000 words! Okay, maybe that's not that long, but it's long for my standards. And it's exciting! I love this chapter, if that's any consolation. I'm really hoping you will, too! I felt like I should give you guys a nice long, exciting, awesome, eventful chapter since it's been so long since I last updated. So I really tried. And I think it's a good one! I hope I'm not losing a bunch of people by how long I take to update this. Cause that just won't do. I'm not quitting this! I will finish it! It's actually getting close. Maybe like...five or six more chapters...? Maybe. But they'll be good! I promise! Now enjoy this one for now. ;)))

* * *

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

Jake grumbled angrily in his half-asleep, half-awake state, and swung his arm out from under his pillow, slamming the button on his alarm clock. What followed was a low, buzzing noise which slowly died out. Puzzled, Jake lifted his head to see, where the clock had been positioned on his bedside table, a pile of gray and black wreckage. Apparently, he had hit the clock with a bit more force than he had meant. With a wry, mirthless smirk he remembered the mental promise he had made a few days ago to smash that same clock. At the time, however, he never assumed it would actually happen.

It wasn't the way Jake had wanted to start his day. He begrudgingly rose from his bed and got dressed for school, before grabbing his things and heading out into the hall, unintentionally slamming his bedroom door a little too hard on his way out. He glared at the fresh crack by the knob, cursing under his breath as he made for the stairs.

He sat down heavily at the kitchen table, a scowl on his face as he grabbed a piece of toast from the pile in the center of the table.

"Eggs'll be ready in a few minutes," Susan said cheerily from the stove. Jake grunted in reply, and she turned to look at him. "Jake… is something wrong?"

He glared at her. "Nothing's wrong," he replied in an icy tone. "Except that for the past week I can't control my anger, I keep breaking things, my friends are afraid of me, everyone's worried about me, I can't keep myself from hurting people, and I'm doomed to destroy everything I care about!" He stood suddenly, knocking his chair over backwards. Susan watched him, concern in her eyes.

"Jake…"

He rounded on her again. "…And no one wants to tell me how they feel! You all wait till you think I'm asleep and have these midnight meetings about what to do with me!" Susan's eyes widened as she realized he had heard them the previous night. "And, on top of all that, there's a psycho girl out to destroy who-knows-what and I have no way of stopping her! But yeah, Mom, other than that I'm _just fine!_" Anger rising with every word, Jake slammed his fist into the kitchen table—causing his mother to jump—in order to try and vent some of it out on something that couldn't feel, before he did it to something that could. He glared at the floor, teeth clenched, as Susan took a tentative step toward him. He didn't know why his anger was so out of control now. He was fine when he went to sleep last night. But he knew one thing. If he didn't get out of there soon, he could end up doing something he'd later regret.

Jake grabbed his backpack and stormed toward the kitchen door as it swung open from the other side. He jumped backward as Haley emerged through the doorway. She flinched at the expression on his face. He shook his head and made his way to the door. When Haley didn't move, Jake felt his right arm rise as if of its own accord, ready to shove her aside. Her eyes widened momentarily, but he grabbed his right arm with his left hand and instead squeezed past his sister through the kitchen door and out of sight.

Haley looked at her mother, her eyes inquisitive. Susan stared instead at the indent made where Jake had struck the kitchen table, silently praying that what her husband had said last night would prove true.

-0-0-0-

There was no denying it, he was afraid. Terrified, even. That morning had proven to Jake that this curse could just take control of him without warning, without being provoked. That meant that at any time, he could lose control of himself and hurt something or someone. There was no way of knowing when it would happen, and no way of preventing it. And that, to Jake, was the most terrifying thing in the world.

"Yo, Jake," Trixie began from her seat beside him. "You okay?"

Jake just shook his head. "I don't know, Trix," he replied. "I feel like I just don't know myself anymore. And I hate it."

She glanced down, looking as though she was about to go on.

"Can no one answer? Hmm? Mr. Long!"

Jake looked up suddenly.

"Surely you know the answer to this question," Rotwood said sarcastically. "How did the Grathions win the sixth Giant War of the Brazen Age?"

Jake looked at Rotwood. "They cheated," he answered. "They snuck into the Hrogars' territory during a truce period and loosed a herd of Nemean lions on them."

Rotwood snorted. "Well, I don't know where you heard that story or what makes you think it could be true—"

"—It is true!" Jake retorted, again amazed at how Rotwood graduated from college with a degree in mythological studies.

The professor shook his head. "Incorrect, Mr. Long. The Grathions defeated the lord of the Hrogars in battle and signed a peace treaty with their queen. It was an honorable victory—"

"—What?" Jake blurted, people snickering around him. "That's not what happened. Where'd you learn mythology, a cereal box?" His voice continued to rise as he glared at Rotwood fuming behind his desk. Trixie and Spud exchanged glances, and Trixie placed her hand on Jake's arm.

"Enough, Mr. Long!" Rotwood shouted, looking flustered. "It seems no matter how many detentions I give you, you simply can't learn your place! After school, tomorrow!"

"No!" Jake returned, rising from his chair suddenly, causing Trixie to lose her grip on him. "I've had it with you and your so-called 'expertise'. You're the worst teacher I've ever met! You know nothing about mythology!"

No one was snickering anymore. The room was awkwardly silent as Rotwood slowly rose from his chair, his eyes not leaving Jake. "Oh? And what makes you the expert?" he said icily, pointing an accusing finger in Jake's direction.

Jake was momentarily taken aback. "No, I—" he clutched his aching head and shut his eyes, trying for the millionth time that week to release the anger boiling inside him. "I… I have to go." With that he strode quickly past Rotwood's desk and toward the door.

Rotwood looked at him with surprise. "Where do you think you're going? You can't just— Hey! Come back here!"

But Jake was already out in the hall. He stopped beside a row of lockers and took a couple deep breaths. Then, without warning, he swung his left arm with all the force he had and slammed the lockers, his breath heaving. _Why can't I stop this? _he asked himself angrily. _This curse has me at its mercy. Am I… really this weak?_

His eyes rose absently to the lockers he'd hit, and he wasn't surprised to see an indent two lockers wide under his fist. But what he was surprised to see was a trickle of blood dripping down his wrist. He stepped away from the wall, unclenching his fist. On his hand were four deep cuts, each about a centimeter wide, in a line across his palm. He realized immediately what had caused them. The fingernails on his left hand had changed. They had grown at least two inches, and held a steely grey color. He stared at his hand with shock. When had this happened? He could've sworn both of his hands had been normal that morning…

"Mr. Long!" came a familiar voice from behind Jake. He spun around, hiding his left hand behind his back. Rotwood was about to say something, but then noticed the dent in the lockers. He turned to Jake, eyes wide with fury. "This was your doing?"

Jake didn't reply. He only glared at Rotwood, not daring to speak for fear of igniting the curse again.

"Well, I don't know how you did it, but I can assure you that you will pay the damages. And not just financially. You are hereby suspended! Indefinitely!"

Jake flinched at the venom in Rotwood's voice. He only shook his head, biting back the retort that was burning to come out. Rotwood smirked.

"Now go home. Your parents will be receiving a call from me shortly." Rotwood's gaze rose to something just above Jake's eyes, narrowing suspiciously. "And if that new hairdo of yours is supposed to be some way of 'defying authority' or whatever it is you troubled youths concern yourselves with, just know that it will not work on me. I know how to handle ruffians like you." He turned abruptly and strode back into his classroom, slamming the door behind him, and leaving Jake alone and confused in the hallway.

Jake stared at the closed classroom door. _My hair…?_ He repeated to himself. He ran a hand through it as a precaution. It felt the same to him. But still Rotwood had said something was different. So he turned and ran into the nearest boys' restroom to see for himself.

Upon glancing in the mirror, he saw immediately what Rotwood had been referring to. His hair looked messier than before, maybe a bit longer. But the major change was the color. About an inch and a half on the ends of his hair had turned a violent blood-red hue, which stood out vibrant against the jet-black of the rest of his hair. His eyes widened as he stared at it, at a complete loss for what to think. He grabbed a lock of his hair in a frantic manner, toying with the red tips, trying to rub them out. But nothing happened. They were really there. He gripped the edge of the bathroom counter until his hands turned white, continuing to stare at his reflection, a look of horror and shock staring back at him. _What's happening to me…? h_e wondered, his voice a silent whisper in the back of his consciousness.

He stood there, gaze glued to the mirror, for what seemed like ages. The bell rang suddenly in the hall, signaling the end of seventh period and waking Jake from his reverie. He shook his head, stepping back from the sinks. _I have to get out of here… _he though as he left the bathroom and began making his way through the crowd of students hurrying to get to their next class. All the while he kept his left hand hidden beneath his jacket, but he had no way of hiding his hair. People stared at him as he rushed past, head down. Some people commented to their friends, a few tried to get his attention, but he paid them no mind.

He was almost at the door when he collided with someone, knocking them both to the floor. "Sorry," he apologized reflexively as he began to rise. But upon looking at the person whom he'd run into, he was surprised—and dismayed—to see Rose's eyes glancing back at him.

"Jake!" she said, smiling as she took her things from him and stood. She frowned. "Where are you going? And… what happened to your hair?"

Jake shook his head. "It's a long story. I'll explain later. And about my hair… I have no idea. But I really have to just get out of here. Now."

She looked down. "Oh… Okay. Well, I'll see you tonight, right? I'm staying at your grandfather's place, so…"

"Yeah," Jake replied absently, sidestepping around her toward the front door. "I-I'll see you later." He waved goodbye before hurrying out the door, almost colliding with another girl on the way.

Rose frowned again, eyebrows creasing in thought. When the late bell rang, she jumped and hurried off to her last class, making a note to speak with Jake about this later.

-0-0-0-

_Ding!_

Jake ignored the familiar sound of the bell above the door to his grandfather's shop. "Gramps?" he called as he closed the door behind him.

"He's not here, kid," came the reply from the back room. Fu Dog emerged from the darkness. "Had to go pick up some supplies. What's with the hair?"

Jake looked up, touching a lock of his hair. "I don't know. It just did this today. And that's not all." He showed Fu Dog his left hand, the same long, grey claws protruding from the tips of his fingers.

The dog strode over to inspect Jake's hand, carefully sliding his paws over the sharp nails. "This is just getting weird."

"Tell me about it."

Fu Dog shook his head, letting go of Jake's hand. "Hey, shouldn't you be at school?"

Jake sighed, collapsing onto the sofa. "Yeah, I should. But I got suspended."

"Suspended?" Fu Dog repeated incredulously. "What'd you do this time?"

"Insulted Rotwood and smashed some lockers," Jake answered simply.

Fu Dog let out a low whistle. "Wow. Your mom know yet?"

"I don't know," Jake replied. "Rotwood said he'd call her."

The dog looked hard at Jake. "Kid… Jake… Something's buggin' you. Something you're not sayin'."

Jake sighed and sat up. He looked at Fu Dog, his eyes full of worry, concern, and, most of all, fear. Fu Dog had never seen Jake like this before. "Something's happening to me," he said, his voice shaking. "And it's… I'm…" He sighed, looking down. "I'm… afraid."

"...I know it's not at all what you're gonna want or need to hear right now," Fu Dog began, taking a breath. "But… I found out some info about this curse."

Jake looked up, a trace of hope in his eyes.

Fu Dog sighed. "You're gonna kill me for tellin' you this…" he muttered so Jake couldn't hear. "This curse… It's extremely dangerous. That much we know. But… it's worse than we thought before."

Jake frowned, his gaze growing more uneasy. "What do you mean?"

"When it was first invented, it was tested on a bunch of little animals, ones that were completely harmless before. Usually the curse took a day or two to fully take over their bodies. But all the experiments ended with the subjects being way more powerful than expected."

Jake's eyes widened as Fu Dog shook his head.

"There was no way to control them, or even communicate with them. And on top of that, apparently the curse was too much for the weak bodies and minds of the animals. After only a few days they'd crack under the strain and die."

"A few days?" Jake repeated.

Fu Dog nodded. "Yeah. People thought that intelligent beings wouldn't have that problem, at least not as quickly, but at the same time they were too afraid to test it on anything more potentially dangerous. The result would be disaster. Some speculated the end of the world."

"W-What?" Jake stammered. "The end of the world?" He looked down, mind racing. This was bad. "But… There has to be some way to reverse it. There just… has to be!"

Fu Dog shook his head solemnly. "One was never created. No one could ever get close enough to the subject to test a cure."

Jake shook his head in disbelief. "No… There's gotta be a way to stop it…"

"There is," Fu Dog answered. Jake looked at him sharply, hope returning to his eyes. "Fight it. That's all you can do."

Jake looked down again. "Fight it…"

"It only took a day for the curse to fully consume those animals. It's been a week so far, and you're still fighting it. There's still a chance. You just have to keep fighting." The dog smiled at Jake. "You're strong, kid. I know it, your family knows it, and you know it. If anyone can beat this thing, you can."

Jake grinned. "Thanks, Fu. I should probably get going."

Fu Dog nodded and watched as Jake left the shop. Then his smile vanished, leaving only worry and fear on his face. "I just hope he believes it before it's too late…"

-0-0-0-

"Jake! I heard you got expelled! Is it true? It had better not be! Can you imagine what having a delinquent for a brother will do to my teachers' opinions of me?"

Jake rolled his eyes as he walked past his sister toward the stairs. "Go bother someone else, will you? Who cares if it's true or not?"

"It had better not be true," a warning voice sounded from behind Jake. He turned slowly to find his mother glaring down at him. He grinned up at her, forcing a laugh.

"Heh heh, of course it's not true! Trust me, I can honestly say I wasn't expelled."

Susan raised an eyebrow at her son, her arms folded in front of her chest.

Jake's smile faltered. "But, uh… Suspended is… kind of a different story…"

His mother's mouth dropped open. "You got _suspended_? What for?"

"I got into a fight with Rotwood in class. Then I… kind of dented some lockers in the hall…"

Susan bit her tongue. She was angry that Jake had been suspended, but she knew that this time, it wasn't his fault. It was the curse. Under normal circumstances this was very unlikely to happen. She sighed. "Alright. We'll… talk about this later. Now, where have you been?"

Jake recounted Fu Dog's tale as his mother and sister listened intently. It was difficult to keep his voice from shaking when speaking of the effects of the curse, but he did his best to appear calm.

"Fu Dog's right, the only thing you can do now is keep fighting this thing," his mother offered when he finished. "I just wish there was some way we could help. I hate just watching helplessly while you battle this curse."

Jake shook his head. "Don't worry. I don't resent you for not helping or anything."

"I know," Susan replied.

"And… Before I forget," Jake continued, looking uneasy. "I'm sorry about… this morning. I didn't mean to—"

"Don't worry," she repeated his words, holding up her hand. "I understand."

Jake smiled gratefully, before turning and heading up the stairs. They both watched him go.

Haley frowned. "Did his hair look…different to you?"

-0-0-0-

Jake was quiet at dinner that night. He barely ate any of the meal in front of him, and if someone would address him, he'd only offer one-word answers in reply. It was difficult for the rest of his family to see him like that, knowing that there was nothing they could do to help cheer him up.

"Jake," his mother said, setting down her fork. "Why don't you… go lie down?"

He looked up at her, his expression unreadable. "Yeah…" he answered vaguely. "Yeah, I guess I am kind of tired…" He got up from the table and, bidding them all goodnight, climbed the stairs to his bedroom.

He lay down in his bed, not bothering to change clothes or close the blinds on the windows. He thought of Ebony, and how he still had no idea where she was or where she was going. It wasn't long, however, before his thoughts lulled him into a restless sleep, his mind troubled with visions of an undetermined, shadowy future…

-0-0-0-

He found himself in the middle of a brightly-lit room full of people darting this way and that. As he looked around at the building, he recognized it as the inside of the city bank. It was packed with people, but none of them seemed to notice Jake standing stationary in the center of the room. He started moving his legs, walking toward the front desk, ignoring the lines of people at each teller's window, who in turn ignored him. He wasn't sure what it was that was making him walk forward, or why he desperately wanted to tell someone, to warn them. Something was coming. Something was about to happen. And someone had to know. Someone had to stop it.

As he made his way to the desk, the people around him seemed to multiply. The space grew much denser, and he quickened his pace as he fought to get through the hordes of bank-goers. Soon he was pushing and shoving through the crowd, which continued to act as though he wasn't there. He wanted to yell, to scream to someone that they all had to get out. It wasn't safe there. But his voice caught in his throat. The people just obstructed him more and more, until he could no longer move through the crowd. Instead he was being jostled back toward the door, where the something was nearing from outside. He began to grow afraid. He didn't want to reach the door. He couldn't. If he did, something bad would happen… He fought with all his might against the wave of people plowing him backward against his will. His mind screamed where his voice could not, but as he made no sound, no one heard. He was almost there now, and it wasn't stopping… His heart began to pound as he neared the door from the inside, and the evil neared it from the outside. His head felt like it was on fire. But no one else sensed what was coming.

Suddenly his right hand clutched the doorknob, and his vision was blinded by a bright flash of white light. He clenched his eyes shut, throwing his left arm in front of his face to shield his eyes. The light faded after a few seconds, and Jake lowered his arm, his right hand still holding onto the doorknob. He looked around at a sight completely different from that of not a moment ago.

The bank was in ruins. Rubble lay everywhere, tables and desks were rent in two, a bit of the ceiling and the back wall had fallen to the ground, leaving the room open to the dark, starless sky. He could see no people, living or otherwise.

Over to Jake's left, a voice began to speak. Glancing in the direction of the voice, Jake saw a strange sight. It was the image of what looked like a news reporter. It was black and white, and flickered every few seconds, like an old movie strip. And it just floated there, in the middle of the wreckage. No television, no projector, nothing. But Jake didn't think on it much. It didn't have to make sense, after all. Nothing else did anymore.

"…savagely destroyed the Fifth Street Bank last night at approximately 3:30 a.m.," she was saying into her microphone. "The only ones inside at the time were three maintenance workers, who, thankfully, were able to escape before any real damage had been dealt." _Good,_ Jake thought to himself. _No one was hurt…_ "But the real mystery here is what committed this crime? We have obtained this video from one of the security cameras in the bank's main lobby."

The image of the woman disappeared, to be replaced by a camera feed of the bank from the previous night. What Jake saw made his blood run cold.

It was the same monster that he'd seen in his dream a few nights previously. The same monster which he had watched murder his family. It tore ruthlessly through the building, destroying anything and everything it could get its hands on. It was a horrifying sight. And as he watched it, something stirred inside him, like he was watching an old home movie.

The shaggy, red fur… The long, gray, talon-like claws… The shining, yellow eyes…

He looked down at his left hand, and touched his hair softly. He didn't believe it… He couldn't believe it. But he knew it was true. That monster… That blood-thirsty, destructive beast…

It was him.

The image slowly faded from sight, and all was once again silent. Jake heard something move behind him, and he spun around, instinctively dropping into a fighting stance. There, standing in the middle of the rubble, was Ebony. In her human form, wearing the black cloak, its hood pulled down to reveal her smirking face.

Jake didn't move. He just stared at her, a look of hurt and fear on his face. She tossed her head back and laughed a cold, cruel laugh.

"You can't stop it," she said, an evil grin on her face, before he could say a word. She slowly walked toward him, and still he didn't move. She kept walking, straight past him, then turned and stepped forward. She was directly behind him, her breath hot on the back of his neck. His fists clenched as she put a hand on his shoulder and whispered in his ear. "You'll destroy everything."

Without warning, the faces of Jake's friends and family began to flash before his mind, their voices ringing in his ears…

"_-Don't you notice how it's affecting you?"_

"_-We just wanna help you."_

"_-They don't make curses that can't be broken."_

"_-I am beginning to worry that we might run out of time…"_

"_-Jake would never hurt anyone! Especially any of us!"_

"_-I just wish there was some way we could help…"_

"_-We'll get through this. We always do."_

Cracking under the strain of the flow of memories, Jake cried out in frustration, turning and running past Ebony and through the front door. He slammed it behind him and fell to his knees, head in his hands.

"No…" he whispered softly, tears forming in his eyes. "I can't… I won't…"

Slowly he began to rise. Finally opening his eyes, he was startled to find himself standing in complete darkness. Nothing above him, nothing below him, nothing before him. He turned back toward the door he had just come through, but it was gone. Instead he saw only emptiness, stretching as far as he could see in every direction. He spun around frantically, trying for a glimpse of any way out of this darkness. He ran a few steps forward, then a few to his left. Nothing.

Frustrated and lost, he took a deep breath, then threw back his head and screamed into the darkness. As his voice quieted, he sank to his knees, his head bowing until his chin touched his chest, his arms hanging limply at his sides.

"Why…" he muttered to the dark. "Why…? _Why?_"

All of a sudden a sound pierced the darkness. The sound of Ebony's laughter. Jake's head snapped up as he gazed around. The laughter seemed to come from every direction, every corner of the darkness. He stood, anger growing.

"You can't hide from me forever!" he shouted into the darkness. "I'll find you! _I'll stop you!_"

"Not on your own, you won't," Ebony replied in a mocking tone. "But how about if I give you a little hint?"

A second later, Jake found himself flying through the darkness. Ebony was leading him somewhere, and he could do nothing but go along for the ride.

After a few seconds, he saw a faint white light a ways off through the black. He was approaching it fast, and as he did it grew brighter and brighter, until he had to throw his arms up to shield his eyes from its blazing glow. An instant later, he landed hard on what felt like grass and dirt, rolling a few feet and coming to a stop painfully against a tree.

Jake opened his eyes to find himself in a dark forest. He rose to his feet, stretching his sore limbs and rubbing a nasty bruise on his right shoulder. He looked around for any sign of Ebony, and saw a column of what looked like smoke rising from within the trees a few yard over to his left. He ran toward it.

He soon came to a vast clearing in the forest in which once rested a village. But now all that remained were numerous piles of ash and rubble. He stepped slowly into the clearing, looking for signs of life, and finding none. He knew this had not been his doing. No, this was Ebony. She had brought him there for a reason. She had to be around there somewhere.

Suddenly he heard voices in the trees across the clearing. Quietly he made his way over, coming to a crouch behind some thick bushes. He peered around them and saw Ebony, her back to him, and a man, cowering on the forest floor below her. They were talking, but he couldn't make out what they were saying. Then Ebony raised her glass-shard staff, a light emanating from it. The next thing Jake knew, the man was gone.

He stumbled backward with shock, falling on the dirt. A twig snapped noisily under his right arm, and Ebony turned to look directly at him. Her eyes were terrifying, filled with a gleeful mirth. Her fanged mouth was spread wide in a hideous grin. When she saw Jake on the ground, she began to laugh. A more terrifying laugh than before.

Jake got to his feet clumsily and turned away from Ebony as fast as he could. He bolted back through the clearing, Ebony's laughter still sounding from directly behind him. He chanced a glance back over his shoulder, but instantly regretted it. His foot caught on an upturned root, and he lost his balance. He fell forward, arms reaching for something to hold onto…

…and landed face-first on his bedroom floor.

Slowly Jake got to his feet, looking around. He was back in his room, out of that forest. The blankets on his bed were twisted about. It looked as though he had just fallen out of bed. Noticing he was still in his regular clothes, he remembered going to bed that night, after leaving dinner early. He rubbed the back of his neck absently, Ebony's piercing laughter still ringing in his ears. He sat on the edge of his bed and wondered what time it was, seeing as his clock had been broken. It was dark outside. He walked to his bedroom door and opened it a crack, peering out. The hallway was dark and empty. It was night. Everyone was asleep. He was home again.

After closing his door, Jake walked over to the window to look out, thinking involuntarily about his dream, or if it even was a dream. Either way, he knew that Ebony had terrible things planned. Or she may have already done them.

_I'll stop her,_ he resolved. _I'll stop her if it's the last thing I do._

The next moment, Jake's head exploded in pain, and he dropped to the floor, mind going numb with ice.

* * *

Well, there is is ;))). I gotta say that one's definitely my favorite of Jake's dreams in this story. It's just like, really...weird. The most dream-like, if that makes any sense. With things changing around him all the time and stuff like that. And if anyone's wondering why Jake didn't turn to stone when he saw Ebony in his dream, that's just because it's a dream. You'll see later, I touch on that at some point.

So there's not much left in this story. Like I said up top, I predict maybe five or six more chapters. And yes, I know how it ends. I already have it all outlined, I'm just not entirely sure how long some of it'll be. But it's getting close! And like I've said before, there's no way I'm quitting on this story. I love it too much ;)))

Hopefully it won't be another five or six months this time till I talk to you again-

-oMM


	18. Encounters

Hey, guys, guess what? IT'S ONLY BEEN TWO MONTHS SINCE I UPDATED THIS! I'm getting better! Hee hee, aren't you proud of me? So here's chapter 18, another exciting one (well, at the end at least). It's not quite as long as the last one, but it's a bit lengthy still. Hope you enjoy it!

* * *

His dulled senses were slowly returning, one by one. A dim light was pulsing faster and faster, and he became aware of a faint throbbing in his head. He could hear voices… They became clearer and clearer, approaching from somewhere nearby…

…"_What's that?"…_

…"_There he is!"…_

…"_Oh, thank goodness!"_

Next thing he knew someone was shaking him. He opened his eyes sluggishly.

"Jake!" someone was saying. "Jake! Wake up!"

Jake shut his eyes again and clenched his teeth. Someone grabbed his shoulders and pulled him into a sitting position. He forced his eyes open again and fought to bring his vision to focus. Two people were crouched around him, staring at him. Their faces gradually began to solidify as Jake leaned back against an unknown wall to steady himself.

"Are you okay?" a concerned voice asked as Rose's face appeared to his left. Trixie was knelt in front of him, her hands still on his shoulders, her eyes boring into his.

Jake coughed in reply, pressing a hand to the back of his head and clenching his teeth again. He heard a voice call, "Here! He's back here! We found him!" It was then he noticed a third figure standing a little ways off, shouting toward something Jake couldn't see. As his surroundings came into focus, he noticed with mild confusion that they appeared to be in an alley in the city. There were walls behind and on either side of him. Trash littered the ground.

"Are you alright?" Rose asked again, putting a hand on his arm. Jake nodded shakily. He removed his right hand from the back of his head, and noticed that it was covered in a warm red liquid. Blood. He must have hit his head when he passed out. Whenever that was…

"What… happened?" Jake croaked, his throat dry. Trixie looked about to reply, but was interrupted by the arrival of three other people.

"Jake!" his mother cried, flinging herself on him. "We've been looking everywhere for you!"

"Where've you been?" his father demanded from behind Susan as Spud jogged into view beside him. "Never mind, there's no time for that now. We've got to get back to your grandfather's shop."

Before Jake could say a word someone grabbed him by the arm and pulled him upright. It didn't take long to reach the electronics shop, it wasn't far. And they all seemed to be in a hurry, though Jake wasn't sure why. He was still attempting to recall what had happened the previous night. He vaguely remembered a dream he had had… A dream about Ebony. He had woken up in his room, but he couldn't remember what had happened after that. But judging by the way his family and friends were reacting, something had definitely happened in the hours between then and now. Something big.

When they arrived at the shop Jake's mother led him to the couch and sat him down. Haley, Lao Shi, and Fu Dog were there, looking just as worried as everyone else.

"Oh, kid," Fu Dog sighed in relief. "You're okay. Good."

Jake growled in frustration. "Will someone please tell me what's going on?"

Trixie nodded toward the television near the front desk. "Look."

The news was on, and a female reporter was portrayed on the screen, standing in front of what looked like a pile of wreckage, speaking into a microphone.

"But the real mystery here is what committed this crime?" she was saying. Something triggered in Jake's memory, bringing an unwanted sense of familiarity, and a dark feeling of foreboding. "We have obtained this video from one of the security cameras in the bank's main lobby."

The screen then cut to a camera feed recorded the previous night, and Jake's throat constricted painfully. His dream… The bank… That red monster… It had happened. It was real. It was all coming true.

"What…What is that thing?" Jonathan asked, voice shaking, as they watched the terrifying beast destroy the building.

"It's…" Jake choked out, his eyes wide in horror and disbelief. The others looked at him, waiting for an answer. "It was me."

Everyone's eyes widened in shock. Haley and Susan gasped. Jonathan shook his head.

"What?" Trixie demanded. "What do you mean?"

"Look at me!" Jake shouted at them all. They jumped. "Look at my hair, my hands, my eyes! You know what's been happening to me! You've seen it! This curse… It's changing me. Into that monster."

"So you're saying," Fu Dog said slowly. "That it was you that tore down the bank last night…? You were that… thing we saw?"

Jake closed his eyes, lowering his head. "I don't remember anything since last night… But that video proves it. I did that. There's no denying it…"

The others exchanged looks as Jake rose from the couch. He steadily strode toward the front door, silently opening it, walking out, and closing it behind him. Once outside he walked to the edge of the sidewalk and sat down, head in his hands.

A moment later, as he had expected, he sensed someone sit on either side of him. They didn't say a word, just waited for him to speak. He remained silent a moment longer, before slowly raising his head and staring out at the street.

"I'm sorry," he said finally. "I ran out on all of you yesterday at school… I should have—"

"Don't even start, Jake," Trixie cut him off from his right. Spud nodded from her other side. "We understand. You've been going through a lot lately. You don't have to explain yourself to us."

"But that doesn't mean I shouldn't," Jake countered. "You guys deserve it. You've stuck with me, knowing what was happening. I shouldn't just brush you off like that."

Trixie looked ready to reply, but she didn't get the chance. "Would you just forget that for now?" Rose said from Jake's left, surprising them with her forcefulness. Trixie smiled, as if she had been about to say the exact same thing. "There's something more important we need to talk about."

Jake sighed. "I can't believe this is happening…" he said. The others remained silent. "I thought I could fight this curse. But I failed. It beat me… I attacked a public place! It was just luck that no one was inside. It wouldn't have mattered to that monster if anyone was there. I could've killed someone!"

"Stop it, Jake!" Rose shouted, causing him to freeze and look over at her. "This isn't your fault. None of it is your fault. If Ebony hadn't come here, hadn't put this curse on you, then none of this would've happened. You can't blame yourself! If this is anyone's fault it's _hers_. So stop wasting your energy on feeling sorry for yourself and start using it to think of a way to beat her before anyone else gets hurt!"

Jake stared at Rose in shock. Never before had he seen her that direct and forceful (when not guised as Hunstgirl, at least). It meant she was serious, she didn't blame him and neither should he himself. And Jake didn't want to admit it, but it made him feel better to be scolded. Lately people had been acting strange around him, treating him differently, even feeling sorry for him. But here was Rose, who had just lost the only family she had ever really known, reprimanding him for being selfish. And she was right. He was being selfish. They had bigger problems than his own guilt at that time. The world was in danger, and they were probably the only ones who could stop the one person who was truly responsible.

Trixie grinned. "Couldn't have said it better myself."

Jake looked down. "Ebony…" he mused, as his dream came flooding back to him. Just then, something clicked in his mind. "That's it!" he said, snapping his fingers and standing bolt upright.

"What's it?" Spud asked as they looked at Jake with puzzled expressions. He quickly recounted the major points of his dream the previous night, ending with the part about Ebony killing the man in the forest.

"Ebony's going back to all the places she and her dad were thrown out of, and taking her revenge on the people that hurt her." Jake clenched his fists at his sides, eyes set toward the midday sun. "'End at the beginning…' She's going back to the place where it all began, the village she was born in." He turned to Rose. "The one she told us about in her story underground." Rose looked hard into Jake's eyes, understanding and believing what he was saying.

The others all stood up as well. "Let's go back inside and come up with a plan," Spud began. "We're gonna need to—"

"—No," Jake said, turning to face the horizon again. "We don't have time. We have to do something now." Without warning he reverted to his dragon form and stepped off the sidewalk onto the road.

"What do you think you're doing?" Trixie demanded, startled.

"I'm going after Ebony," Jake said without turning around.

"Then we're coming with you," Trixie retorted.

Jake shook his head. "I can go faster if I fly, and I can't take any of you with me. It'd only slow me down. I'm going alone."

"No way, man," Spud said as Trixie voiced her disapproval as well.

Rose took a step forward. "…Jake?"

He turned his head to the side to look at them. There was a serious expression on his face, but they could see a hidden sadness in his eyes.

"I'm sorry…"

And with that he spread his wings and took off, speeding away toward the eastern sky.

"This is bad…" Spud said, running into the street.

Rose's expression hardened as she glared at Jake's rapidly-retreating form. She jumped into the air, clicking her heels. Her glider appeared beneath her feet.

"I'll go after him and make sure he doesn't get into trouble. Go inside and tell everyone else. Follow us as soon as you can."

Trixie nodded. "Good luck." With that, Rose flew into the air and chased after Jake, hoping she could catch him before he did anything stupid.

-0-0-0-

"This is getting out of our hands…" Lao Shi said, rubbing his forehead in a tired manner.

"You're right," Susan agreed. "But what can we do? I won't just sit by and let my son be taken over by this curse!"

"Calm down, honey," Jonathan said soothingly, his arms around his wife's shoulders. "But I agree. There has to be something we can do."

"Poor Jake," Haley whispered. "It must be awful to be unable to control your actions and feelings. He must be terrified…"

Susan and Jonathan looked at each other. "Don't worry, sweetie," Susan said, leaning toward her and putting a hand on her face. "We're gonna figure out a way to help him. If anyone can stop this, we can, right? Just think of everything we've been through in the past."

Haley smiled. "You're right, Mom. I know."

Just then the front door of the shop burst open and Trixie and Spud stumbled in.

"Jake's gone after Ebony!" Spud exclaimed. They all stood up swiftly.

"What?" Lao Shi demanded. "He went alone?"

"Yeah," Trixie answered. "But Rose went after him already. She said to follow as soon as we can."

"Fu Dog," Lao Shi said simply as he rose and strode briskly toward the door, the others hurrying to follow. Upon reaching the sidewalk and assuring that the coast was clear, the old man reverted immediately to dragon form, snatched up Fu Dog, who had been ready at the former's command, and sprang into the air, jetting off in the same direction Jake had moments ago.

-0-0-0-

It was dark. Jake had been flying all day, and the sun had long since set beyond the horizon. He had given up flying in the dark and was now making his way on foot through a dense forest. He wandered somewhat aimlessly, but something seemed to be pulling him forward, drawing him near. He had no doubt he was headed in the right direction.

As he made his way around the thick trunk of a tall tree, he saw thick clouds of smoke rising from somewhere ahead of him. They instantly reminded him of his dream, and with renewed vigor he raced forward, into a forest clearing.

The clearing was obviously what had once been a small village, but was now only a pile of ash and wreckage. Just as in his dream, there were no signs of life to be found. The village had been utterly destroyed, which, as far as Jake could tell, meant one thing: Ebony was near.

Sure enough, just as he remembered, he suddenly heard voices, soft and distant but decidedly present. He crept across the clearing and crouched behind a large bush, reverting back to human form so as not to take up as much space. A familiar scene played out in front of him.

Through the trees he could see Ebony, her back to him, and a man cowering on the ground in front of her. Although Ebony was not facing him, Jake still turned away so as not to look into her eyes. He couldn't tell what the two were saying, but soon enough there was a bright flash of light and a frightened scream, and Jake knew the man was gone.

The sound of the man's scream had startled Jake, causing him to stumble unsteadily backward, as he had in his dream. Also as expected, a rather loud snapping sound under his right arm instantly gave away his position, and Ebony turned to look at him.

"Jake!" she said in a sickeningly delighted tone. "I was hoping you'd be joining me tonight! What do you think of my handiwork?" she added with mock pride.

"I think you're a monster," Jake spat at her, still refusing to look her in the eye. "You killed all these people… How could you possibly think that this will make up for what happened to you?"

Ebony chuckled. "I'm a monster?" she asked innocently. "What about you? You understand now, don't you? You know what you're becoming. And you know you can't stop it."

"Shut up!" Jake shouted, a dagger of pain striking his brain. He clenched his teeth, unwilling to show Ebony the discomfort the curse was causing him. "You don't know me. You don't know my family! I would never hurt them. I _will_ stop this! And I will stop you."

"Me?" she repeated, the innocence in her voice momentarily disappearing, to be replaced by an evil snarl. "Apparently it's you who does not know me. You think you can stop me? Hah! I'd like to see you try!" She was mocking him, and nothing at that moment could have made him angrier.

"Oh yeah?" Jake shouted, standing but keeping his eyes clenched shut. He allowed his body to revert once again to dragon form as he took a step toward where he knew Ebony to be standing. "How about right here, right now? You're done with this 'revenge' of yours. You're not going anywhere."

With that he lunged at Ebony, catching her off guard. He bowled her onto the ground, the two of them rolling over each other until Jake leapt into the air, ready for another attack. Unfortunately he never got the chance. Before he could act again, Ebony thrust her staff at him. Jake felt the cold mirror-glass of the staff head collide with his side, slamming him painfully into a tree on his left. He quickly rose again and shook himself off, but he had lost track of where Ebony was, given that he could not see her. He kept his eyes closed tight and his ears alert for any sound that might give away her position.

After a moment he heard a shuffling sound behind him and to the right. Reacting fast, he jumped to his left, but forgot about the tree that he had hit before, and was unable to get far enough. Not a second later Ebony's claws struck his right arm, carving deep lines down to his elbow. He cried out in pain and surprise, grabbing his upper arm with his left hand and springing into the air in the direction he thought was the opposite of which Ebony had been. He spun around in the air, searching with his ears for any sign of his opponent. All this accomplished was to render him confused as to which way from which he had come. Before long he felt something ram hard into his back, sending him crashing to the ground, where he landed hard on his left shoulder. A resounding crack filled his ears as he gasped in pain, reverting unwillingly to his human form. He slowly began to rise, using his right arm to lift his torso off the grass, but he felt something press against his back and shove him forcefully back the ground.

"What did I tell you?" Ebony asked from above him. She had her foot on his back and was holding him in place. He grunted and tried to shove her off, but she wouldn't budge. "You're no match for me. That attempt was almost sad." Jake's eyes flashed angrily, but Ebony didn't see.

Suddenly they both heard something from the clearing a ways off. Ebony turned to look, but Jake had a feeling he knew who it was. He clenched his teeth in both pain and annoyance.

"Seems we have company," Ebony said pleasantly, before turning back to Jake. "I've got one more stop to visit, but I was planning on taking a break before making my last move. I'll be spending the next two nights in an abandoned warehouse not far from my destination. You know where to go, if you want another chance to make a good impression." Ebony chuckled again, and Jake could tell she was grinning, enjoying every minute of this. "Just remember, at sunrise on the day after tomorrow, I make my move, whether you're there or not. You have until then." She released him and took a few steps backward. Jake remained where he was, unwilling and unable to move. "Hope to see you soon!" With that, Ebony took to the sky, and was gone.

Not a moment later Jake heard a loud rustling sound from the trees to his left.

"Jake!" Rose called when she saw him. Her voice seemed to awaken something inside him. He pushed himself up on his right arm, which was still bleeding from the long claw marks running down it, as Rose came and knelt next to him. She grabbed his left arm to help him up, but stopped when he yelled at the pressure. He got himself into a sitting position and she moved to inspect his left shoulder.

Jake looked at her, his expression unreadable. "Rose…" was all he could say. When he had first heard her before Ebony had left, he had felt annoyed that anyone had come after him when he had told them not to. But now, now that Ebony was gone and he was left alone, he found himself grateful that she was there.

"Your shoulder's dislocated…" Rose explained in a quiet voice. "Hold still, I can fix it." She pulled his jacket off, making him wince in pain. With steady hands, she carefully lifted his shirt and reached up toward his shoulder, unable to keep her fingers from brushing against the bare skin of his chest. He shivered noticeably, whether from cold or something else Rose was unsure, although her breath seemed to quicken as well. Clearing her mind she wrapped her hands around his shoulder. Then without a word she silently snapped the bone back into place, causing Jake to cry out through his clenched teeth, turning his head away from her.

Rose slowly removed her hands from under his shirt and handed him his jacket, her eyes darting momentarily to the claw marks on his right arm. He moved his left arm, testing his healed shoulder, as Rose watched with sad eyes. "Jake…" she said softly, causing him to halt his action and look at her. "What happened?"

Jake looked down, suddenly feeling ashamed, though he couldn't explain how or why. "Ebony…" he replied absently. "She destroyed that village… I saw her kill a man. She's not finished… She's just gonna keep killing. I… I had to try and stop her somehow."

Rose shook her head. "Jake, why did you do this? Why did you go off by yourself like that?" Her expression fell somewhat, and she put her hands on his shoulders. "Don't you trust us? We can help you. You can't do this alone."

"I just…" Jake began, trying to find the right words to explain his actions, if he could explain them at all.

"They're over here!" someone called from the clearing, breaking the silence. Just then Fu Dog burst through the trees, causing both Jake and Rose to jump violently and Rose to let go of Jake and stumble backward. Fu Dog looked at them, puzzled. "I'm not…interrupting anything, am I?"

Rose stood, ignoring his comment. "Jake's hurt," she said, helping him stand as well. "Ebony was here."

Fu Dog's expression grew serious. "Ebony… Aw, man. You okay, kid?" he asked, walking over to them.

Jake nodded. "I'm fine, it's just my arm." He lifted his hand to show the dog the deep cuts on his arm, just as Lao Shi emerged from the clearing, still in his dragon form.

"Come," the old man said, leaving no room for protest. "We must return quickly to the shop. You can explain what happened there. Your family will want to know everything."

Jake looked at Rose, who looked back at him, but neither of them said anything. Instead Jake reverted to his dragon form and Rose jumped up and willed her glider to materialize beneath her feet. Lao Shi grabbed hold of Fu Dog, and all four headed back the way they'd come, as the sun began to rise over the eastern horizon.

* * *

So there's 18. Kinda short, but sort of eventful. We're definitely nearing to a close here with this, too. It'll probably end at around... 22 or 23 chapters, with an epilogue at the end. So look forward to the end, kay? I'll try not to make it take too long, I promise :D

See ya soon!

-oMM


	19. Hopes

Omg, guys... Guess what today is? No idea what the date is, but what matters is: IT'S BEEN LESS THAN A WEEK SINCE MY LAST UPDATE! AHHH! DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS MEANS? Me neither, but I'm guessing it's like the end of the world or something. I guess it's just since we're like really near the end of this, and I'm so excited about it I wanna just keep writing! I'm never this motivated! It's such a good feeling! Haha, yeah, it's 2:30 in the morning and I've been up since 7:00 a.m. cause I had a chemistry exam at 7:45 and for some reason I'm like uber-hyper and excited and all that fun stuff and I tend to write really long sentences when I'm excited about things but you've probably realized that by now by the fact that this sentence isn't going anywhere anymore and here I am still typing it so I'm gonna stop now and get to the story! (...deep breath...) I really like this chapter, btw. It's long, too :D Almost 5,000 words.

Anyway, I think that's enough rambling for one night (although I'm sure I could keep going if you want me to... haha). On with the story!

* * *

"So there's only one question we still need to answer: How do we beat her?"

Jake had just finished recounting to his family and friends the events that had transpired since his flight from them the night before. They had not acted with anger towards him, but rather had listened attentively to what he had to say. Apparently they all realized that the time for action had come, and that the time for their own problems could wait. Now all they had left to do was come up with a plan.

"Well there's only one way to kill a gorgon," Fu Dog answered Jonathan's question. "Show her her reflection. If she sees her own reflection, she'll turn to stone. It's the only way to stop her."

"So all we need to do is get her to look in a mirror?" Spud clarified. "That doesn't seem too hard."

"On the contrary," Lao Shi spoke up. "The problem is going to be getting close enough to her without being turned to stone ourselves. Jake," he said abruptly, turning to his grandson.

Jake's mind snapped back into the conversation. "Yeah?"

"Ebony has challenged you to a duel, a final standoff to see if you have what it takes to stop her. Clearly she is confident in her abilities, else she would not have given you the advantage of knowing where she is headed."

Jake's eyebrows creased in frustration. "So what do you expect me to do about this 'challenge'?"

Lao Shi folded his hands in his lap. "I expect you to answer it."

"What?" Jake demanded, still unsure what his grandfather was telling him. "I tried fighting her last night. I failed. You know what happened. You want me to go after her again? I'll get killed!"

"I gotta agree with Jake on this one," Fu Dog said, though he looked as though it cost him a great effort. "It's too dangerous. What if he accidentally looks her in the eye? If that happens, he's turned to stone just like that. There has to be another—"

"Which is why he will fight her blindfolded," Lao Shi answered, as though it was obvious.

Jake raised an eyebrow at his grandfather. "Blindfolded?" he repeated in disbelief. "I tried fighting her with my eyes shut last night. It didn't go well. I had no idea what I was doing."

"That, young one," Lao Shi replied, sounding as though he were reprimanding his grandson, "is what practice is for."

"But we only have until tomorrow morning!" Haley interrupted. "How can he practice in that little time?"

"I agree," Trixie supplied. "That's a bit much, even for someone like Jake."

"Well, I think he can do it," Rose shouted above the others.

Jake looked at her. "You do?"

Rose nodded, smiling. "I've seen you fight, Jake. You learn fast, and you don't make careless mistakes. I think that if you put your mind to it—which I know you will—you can do it." Jake grinned back at her, thankful for her support. And hearing her encourage him made him feel like he might have a chance.

Fu Dog stood up. "You know, I think she's right," he said confidently. The others looked at him, hope in their eyes.

Lao Shi nodded knowingly. "But Jake is not the only one that will have to work hard." He looked at Fu Dog, who got the message instantly.

"Let's get started," the dog said, pounding a fist in his palm. "We don't have much time, so the sooner the better. Ready, Jake?"

Jake stood up, resolve flooding through him. Finally they had a plan. And he really felt that it could work. "Yeah. Let's go."

As Jake, Lao Shi, and Fu Dog headed toward the staircase which led to the roof, Haley got up to follow them, but Susan held her back.

"Oh, no," Susan said, a hand on her daughter's arm to keep her in place. "You have to get to school."

"Aw, Mom," Haley whined. "I wanted to watch! It's not every day you get to see someone fight blindfolded!"

Susan shook her head. "What's gotten into you? Before all this, you wouldn't miss a day of school if someone paid you. Now you'd rather watch your brother and grandfather training?"

Haley shrugged and Spud and Trixie chuckled.

"School," Susan said, a tone of finality in her voice. Haley just shook her head in disappointment and headed out the door.

"C'mon, Spud," Trixie said, turning to her friend. "Jake may have been suspended, but we still have school, too."

Spud groaned. "Do we have to?"

Rose laughed. "You're sounding like Haley," she teased, making Spud groan again. The three of them rose and strode out the door, still talking and laughing. The discussion of moments before had brought a hopeful air to them all. They all now believed that they really had a chance of stopping Ebony, and to them, it was the best they'd felt in a long time.

-0-0-0-

"Be more attentive, Jake!" Lao Shi warned as he aimed a kick at the side of Jake's head, which he dodged at the last minute. As unrelenting as he knew he needed to be, the old man wasted no time in forcing another attack. He jumped into the air and shot a jet of flame toward where Jake had landed. Feeling the heat approaching from his right, Jake flipped backward into the air, swinging his tail to the right and knocking his grandfather to the ground.

"Nice hit, kid!" Fu Dog shouted from the side. "But don't let it break your concentration—take him down!"

Jake landed on his feet and swiftly jumped back into the air. He heard a thud from what sounded like a few feet in front of him, and he dove in the direction of the sound. Lao Shi rolled to the side just in time, but Jake, feeling the slight wind from the old man's quick movement, adjusted his dive into a barrel roll and dropped down milliseconds later, pinning his grandfather to the ground beneath him.

All of a sudden, an uncontrollable anger welled up inside Jake. It came out of nowhere, and try as he might he couldn't contain it. His eyes flashed golden-yellow behind his blindfold, and he raised a clawed hand above his head, ready to strike his victim down, and trying with all his might not to. He screamed in frustration, shaking with repressed rage, and Fu Dog and Lao Shi realized what was happening.

"Enough!" Lao Shi shouted as Fu Dog ran over, ready to intervene. It took every last drop of Jake's willpower to wrench himself off of his grandfather. He rose to his feet and took a few staggering steps backward, clutching his head as the anger subsided, leaving only a dull throbbing.

He should've been expecting it. He knew he should've seen it coming. The curse hadn't plagued him in a while, and with its moving along the way it had been it had seemed strange that it had been surprisingly inactive recently. But it had chosen that moment to make itself known again, to ensure that Jake never forgot who it was that was in control.

As Lao Shi got to his feet, Jake lifted a hand to the piece of black cloth covering his eyes and lifted it from his vision, revealing the now dimming light of the setting sun. Both he and his grandfather were panting from exertion, and the latter was gazing at Jake from a few feet away, a serious expression on his face. Apparently he had been thinking along the same lines.

"I'm sorry," Jake said, eyes downcast. "It… hasn't done anything for so long… I thought maybe… But now…"

"Do not worry, Jake," Lao Shi said, reverting to his human form and taking a seat on the rooftop. "It is of little importance at the moment. We needn't worry until Ebony is out of our hair."

Jake smiled at his grandfather, but didn't reply. He was glad they didn't have to talk about the curse. It had rapidly become one of his least favorite topics of conversation.

Fu Dog chose that moment to take a seat between the two of them, and to change the subject. "Good work, Jake," the dog congratulated the teen, who also had reverted back to human form. He, however, chose to remain standing.

"But do you think it's enough to beat Ebony?" Jake asked, a slight edge to his voice. They had been fighting for the greater part of the day, breaking only every two hours or so to catch their breath. Lao Shi and Fu Dog had started out by shouting directions at Jake, telling him to listen for this or recognize that feeling. After a while they stopped doing this and he and Lao Shi fought for real, Fu Dog watching and cheering from the sidelines. Over time, Jake had gotten much better at identifying certain signs around him when he couldn't see. He couldn't say it was easier than fighting with his eyes open, but it was manageable. He could do it, he just wasn't sure it was enough.

"I think we do not have much other choice," Lao Shi answered. "With more time perhaps we might have prepared you better, but with our limited resources I would say that you've done very well, and you are as ready as can be expected."

Jake frowned. "That… doesn't answer my question."

Lao Shi sighed. "If you are asking me if I think that the skills you have learned today will be enough to match her, then I would have to say… no. The little experience you have in blind combat is, at the moment, no match for Ebony."

"What?" Jake cried, eyes widening. If his grandfather lost hope, then that meant their situation had changed for the worse. "Then, why did you—"

"You did not let me finish," the old man interrupted, holding up a hand. Jake fell silent. "However, if you are asking me whether or not I think you will be able to defeat her, then my answer is yes, I do."

Jake looked at his grandfather, puzzled. "What do you mean?"

"I know you, Jake," Lao Shi answered. "Better than most people you know. I have seen you in battle. I have seen how you can manage to pull through where most would give up. I have seen you win fights which many would have guessed were far out of your capabilities. Any many, many times, I have seen you find the strength to go on when it seemed all possibilities were lost. You have a talent, Jake. A rare talent. Not in physical prowess, although that is one of your strengths. But the talent of which I am speaking is more valuable than any amount of battle lore."

Fu Dog looked slightly defensive at this comment, but said nothing. Jake just stared at the old man. "And… what's that?"

Lao Shi smiled. "Hope," he answered simply. Jake raised an eyebrow in apprehension, but Lao Shi held up a hand. "It's true. You have hope, and that hope enables you to do much more than those without, even those stronger than you. Ebony is bent on revenge. Her heart dwells in the past, seeking retribution. She has no hope, and therefore she cannot beat you. And furthermore, neither can this curse. Its hold on you may be powerful, more powerful than you think you can bear, but I know that you will prevail. So long as you never lose that hope."

Jake didn't know what to say. He felt as though his grandfather was asking more of him than he could give, but at the same time he felt strengthened by the old man's words. Whether Jake truly believed he could defeat Ebony or not, it felt good to hear someone tell him they knew he could do it. So he silently resolved to fight as hard as he could, and to never give up hope, not until Ebony was no longer a threat. This, he felt he could do.

Jake lifted his head. "Thanks, Grandpa," he said, smiling. The old man nodded, smiling back.

"Well, if we're done here," Fu Dog began in a lively tone, all their spirits lifted again. "Let's go downstairs and get some dinner. We've been up here all day."

-0-0-0-

Later that night, Jake had returned to the rooftop. The sun had set just recently, and the sky on the horizon was still a dim gray, having yet to darken completely. As Jake sat on the edge of the roof, he looked out toward the night sky, thinking to himself. In a few hours time, they would be heading out to meet Ebony. It would very likely, Jake knew, be the most difficult fight he had ever had to face. But he would face it all the same. He had to. For his family, for his friends, for everyone Ebony had killed, for everyone she had yet to kill, and even for himself. Somehow he felt that maybe, just maybe, if he could beat Ebony, he could beat the curse raging inside him. And that alone made him vow not to give up.

"Mind if I join you?"

The sudden voice snapped Jake abruptly back to reality, and he jumped violently, turning around to see the source of the intrusion. Rose was standing a few paces behind him, giggling silently at his reaction.

Jake shook himself off, before smiling back at her. "Sure. Take a seat."

Rose strode over and sat down next to him, staring out at the dark sky. For a moment they just sat there in comfortable silence, each lost in their own thoughts, glancing at the stars above them and the gray horizon below.

"You never told me why you left alone yesterday," Rose said suddenly, turning to face Jake, a simple, inquisitive gleam in her eye.

Jake looked up, having not expected the question, and hence being unprepared to answer. "I told you when I left," he said. "I could move faster on my own."

Rose fixed him with a pointed look. "That's not all. Come on, Jake, I can tell when you're lying." Her glance softened. "Tell me the truth."

"I…" Jake began, then looked down. He did need to talk to someone, and here Rose was, asking him point-blank. "I didn't want any of you to get hurt."

She glared at him. "What, like we're all helpless little wimps? I thought you knew me better than that."

"No," Jake said, shaking his head. "I just… I didn't know if I could… protect you guys…"

"Protect us? We've done this before, Jake. Me, especially. We don't need you to protect us from people like Ebony."

"No, not from Ebony—"

"Then from what?"

"From _me!_" Jake shouted emphatically, looking Rose in the eyes. She froze, staring back at him. "I… didn't want to hurt you… I couldn't protect you. I feel like I can't control myself anymore. I just… don't know what to do…" Jake lowered his head, hiding his eyes. His hands were clutching the edge of the rooftop, his knuckles white. He looked…afraid. And Rose could tell.

Rose put a gentle hand on Jake's shoulder. He didn't move. "I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean to accuse you. I guess I was just… offended, because I thought you didn't trust us. But I was wrong. And I'm sorry."

Jake shook his head slightly. So slightly, Rose almost missed it. "It's not your fault. I should've said something. I just… couldn't." He looked up at Rose, and she saw tears in his eyes. "You don't know how hard it is… Feeling like at any minute I could just lose control and kill someone I care about. I'm putting my family in danger, I'm putting my friends in danger… I'm putting you in danger… Just by being around you. I don't know what to do anymore…" He looked down again, but Rose shook his shoulder as if in protest.

"Hey," she said kindly as he turned back to look at her again. "Listen to me. Nothing—you hear me? Nothing—could ever make you hurt someone you care about." He opened his mouth to say something but she cut him off. "Jake, I know you. You know I do. We all do. And I know I can speak for the others in this—we trust you. Have you hurt anyone yet?"

"Well—"

"Have you hurt anyone yet?" she repeated, more firmly this time.

Jake paused. "No…"

"And you never will," Rose finished, satisfied.

There was silence between them for a moment, Rose not allowing Jake to look away, but forcing him to stare into the determination in her eyes, willing him to understand. They were not afraid of him or of what he could become, and they were all ready and willing to still go into battle alongside him. They were a team, and he needed to realize that again.

Slowly, Jake began to loosen, to appear less tense and more relieved. He smiled. "You're right," he said as Rose let go of his arm. "Thank you. I guess I… needed that."

Rose breathed a sigh of relief, a smile spreading across her face. "Well someone had to knock some sense into that tiny dragon brain of yours."

Jake grinned and shook his head. "You reprimand me, you insult me, anything else you'd like to say to further destroy my self-esteem?"

Rose giggled, glad to have Jake back to normal. "No, I think I'm good for tonight."

Once again a companionable silence swept over the two as they gazed into the night sky. After a moment, Rose leaned to the side and laid her head on Jake's shoulder. He glanced briefly at her, noting how calm and peaceful she looked, before turning his gaze back toward the twinkling stars. They sat like that for a while, until Rose sat bolt upright and looked at Jake, a grin on her face.

"Hey," she said, sounding excited about something. "Let's fight."

Jake frowned at her, confused. "What?"

"Come on!" she pleaded, standing up and offering her hand, which he took and stood as well. "Get your blindfold. I wanna see how good you got!"

Still a bit bewildered as to Rose's sudden urge for a battle, Jake shrugged and pulled the long black piece of cloth out of his pocket, before reverting to his dragon form. "Alright," he warned in an false, official-sounding tone. "But I can't be responsible for any injuries you may sustain."

"Oh, ha, ha," Rose mocked as Jake tied the blindfold around his eyes, obscuring his vision completely.

"Okay," Jake said when he had almost finished. "Whenever you're—" His sentence was cut short, however, by a flying kick aimed directly at his chest, which sent him crashing to the rooftop floor a few feet behind where he'd been standing.

"What was that about injuries?" Rose asked sweetly, her voice coming from directly above Jake.

Jake grinned, baring his teeth. "Enjoy that hit," he said playfully. "It's the last one you're gonna get."

Next thing Rose knew Jake had grabbed her leg and tossed her to the other side of the roof. She quickly stood and grabbed her retractable staff from the pocket on her thigh, extending it to its full length.

"Just don't hold back!" she shouted, before jumping into the air.

Jake shook his head. "You just gave away your position," he said simply, before spreading his wings and leaping upward, intercepting her mid-jump. He aimed a flying kick at her, which she dodged. She then swung her staff behind her, attempting to hit Jake from behind, but he back-flipped over it in the air and grabbed the other side on its backswing. Using the staff as leverage, Jake then swung Rose in a full circle before letting go of the staff and sending her flying down to the rooftop again.

With a snarl, Rose got up from the floor, taking care to keep as quiet as she could. Jake was floating perfectly still in the air, save for the silent, steady beating of his wings. He was listening for any sign that would give away her location. He had certainly trained hard that day, Rose noticed. This would be tougher than she had thought.

Still attempting to be as silent as possible, Rose crept behind where Jake was facing and leapt into the air. He noticed her presence a minute too late, however, and she landed a spin kick on his right side, knocking him out of the air.

"I thought you said I couldn't hit you," Rose said in a sing-song voice, grinning, although Jake couldn't see it.

Jake got up from the floor. "Keep dreamin', Huntsgirl," he replied, before leaping into the air again.

"Bring it on, Dragon Boy," Rose shot back, sprinting forward beneath him, hoping to catch him off guard. Unfortunately for her he was prepared this time, and pulled into a dive just as she passed under him. She barely dodged to the side, and Jake, using the same move he had earlier on his grandfather, quickly turned the dive into a barrel roll, following Rose to the right side of the roof. Rose, being faster than Lao Shi had been, was able to spring out from under Jake before he could land an attack.

As soon as she was free she flipped in the air and jumped on top of Jake before he could rise. She thrust her staff toward his throat, pinning him to the ground.

Just then, Jake felt the same immense anger and contempt well up inside him. His eyes widened beneath the blindfold and his body shook with his effort to keep it inside. He clenched his teeth as his head pounded painfully. He wouldn't let this happen… Not now.

Rose, being unable to see his eyes, did not know what was happening. "Gotcha," she gloated, a satisfied grin on her face.

Momentarily, a wide, frightening snarl spread across Jake's face, his fangs bared menacingly in the moonlight. Rose looked at him apprehensively, about to back off.

"Guess again," Jake said, but his voice sounded different. It was deeper, raspy. It sounded almost like a growl. It sent chills down Rose's spine, and told her something was wrong.

The next thing Rose knew, she had been forcefully swept to the ground by Jake's tail, and Jake was standing over her, claws gleaming from the reflection of the moon. She wasn't sure if she had imagined it or not, but his red scales almost looked like fur. A deep, blood-red fur. He raised his right hand high above his head. It began to glow with an eerie yellow light, which cast a frightening shadow over Jake's blindfolded face, which still bared an evil snarl.

"Jake!" Rose screamed, leaning up toward him. She knew he was in there somewhere, and that he could fight this. "Stop!"

To Rose's relief, her voice seemed to have some effect on him. His hand ceased its golden glow, and he took a few staggered steps backward. He seemed to shrink a little, although it may have only been a trick of the light, and his scales regained their shimmer against the moonlight. He looked to be fighting with himself; his teeth were clenched tightly and he was shaking all over.

All of a sudden he screamed into the night, before reverting to his human form and falling to his knees. Rose sprang up from the floor and rushed over to him. The blindfold had fallen from his eyes at his transformation, and now when she neared she could see tears streaming from them.

She knelt down beside him. "Jake…" She put a hand on his shoulder, but he jerked away from her.

"—Don't…" he cut her off, breathing heavily. He looked exhausted, and still in pain. He was still fighting the curse's onslaught, and she didn't know what she could do to help. But she had to do something.

Before Jake could say another word, Rose grabbed his shoulders and pulled him toward her into a tight hug. He tried to pull away, but she wouldn't let go. She held onto him, with all her strength, as he continued to shake and groan with pain and exertion. It took all she had to keep him from jerking from her grasp, but she didn't let go. She wouldn't. She would hold onto him until all her strength left her, until she couldn't any more.

All of a sudden, rain started to fall. It came first in tiny, miniscule droplets, barely noticeable, but swiftly progressed into a heavy downpour, drenching the two in seconds. And somehow, through this blinding rain, Rose realized why she had done what she had. Jake had been a hero for so long, had saved so many people. But right then, as he fought against the beast raging inside him, what he needed most was someone to save him. Someone to be his hero. And Rose was determined to do just that. And as the rain fell, soaking her hair and clothes, she began to cry, her tears mixing with the droplets on her face. But still she held on tight to the boy in her arms. Right then, he needed her. So no matter how hard he fought her, no matter how hard he fought himself, she held on. She wouldn't let him go.

After a few minutes of struggling in the pouring rain, Jake's body finally relaxed. His arms fell to his sides, his head dropped onto Rose's shoulder. She held onto him a moment longer, letting him know that she was still there, and he was okay. Then she extended her arms, separating herself from him, but held onto his shoulders to steady him.

Jake looked into Rose's eyes, unable to speak. She was crying, he could tell through the rain. And… She had saved him. Helped him. But this event had told him one important thing: the curse was there to stay, and getting worse. If Rose hadn't called out to him when she had, he might not have been able to stop it in time. Something had to be done, he knew. Simply fighting it was not an option anymore. He needed something else.

Jake looked at Rose. He had to say something. "I'm s—"

"—Don't say it," Rose interrupted, shaking her head. "Saying you're sorry would be admitting you were at fault."

Jake lowered his eyes, his wet hair falling across his forehead. "But… It is my—"

"—No," Rose replied, more firmly. "It's not. This curse is strong. Stronger than we thought. I see that now. You couldn't have done anything. You're only responsible for having stopped it, which you were only able to do because deep down, you're not evil. And you don't want to be." She smiled at him, and after a moment he slowly smiled back, understanding. "Anyone else would have cracked under that pressure, wouldn't have been able beat it. It seems like whatever this monster inside you is, it's powerful. More powerful than Ebony, even."

All of a sudden, a thought crossed Jake's mind. "More powerful than Ebony…"

"That's right," Rose answered, nodding. "But you stopped it. And you can stop Ebony."

Jake looked thoughtful for a moment, before looking Rose in the eyes again. "Thank you," he said. "…Again."

Rose smiled wider. "Any time." She looked up at the sky, rain falling on her face as she did so. The moon had just passed its full height, meaning it was just past midnight. "You should get some sleep. You're leaving at sunrise tomorrow."

Jake frowned. "Right…"

Together they stood and walked toward the doorway. Jake's mind was now on Ebony, and his fight with her the next morning. He still wasn't sure he was ready, but between what his grandfather and Rose had said to him that day, he felt he at least had a chance. But before then, there was something he needed to do, and to think about. A plan was slowly forming in his mind, and although he wasn't sure he liked it, it seemed the only course of action he had left to take.

* * *

Ugh, I don't like writing emotional scenes. They're so hard... Just give me good fight scene over an emotional one any day. Haha. Unfortunately, though, a good story needs both, so I kind of can't avoid it.

Woo-hoo! We're almost done! Okay, so there's still like three or four chapters left, plus the epilogue, but that is almost done compared to the 19 chapters this has been so far. I'm gonna be kind of sad to see this go, though. I've been at it for so long... It's been fun! But I'll worry about that later. I still have to write the big end battle! Haha, that should be good :D

See ya soon! (Really, it probably will be this time. Dunno about this less than a week thing, so don't come to expect it of me... But I'll try harder still!)

-oMM


	20. Promises

Only two months this time. Not too bad. Plus this chapter actually took me like three days to write. Usually I can sit down and write a chapter in like four or five hours. But this one took me three days... Hopefully that means it's good. It's certainly long, over 5,000 words. And I really like it, too. It's pretty intense :D Here we see the start of our big final battle! Ooooooooo! Hahaha. I've been looking forward to this one for a while now. But I'll just let you read on and see for yourself, right? Have fun! (I definitely did writing it :D )

* * *

"Jake! You're gonna be late!"

"I'm coming!" Jake shouted over his shoulder from where he stood in front of the desk in his room. He had just finished stowing a small object back inside a desk drawer and was now throwing on a pair of sneakers from under the same desk. Today was the day. The day they planned to meet Ebony outside her village. The day he had to fight her. The day they had a chance to end what the sinister gorgon had done, to stop what she was about to do. Jake couldn't honestly say he wasn't nervous, even afraid. But he knew what was at stake, and he wouldn't back down. Everyone was counting on him to win, to defeat their devilish foe. And although the others didn't know it yet, he had a plan. A plan that he thought could work, but that he also knew might have serious risks. But he was determined, and those were risks he would have to take. But only as a last resort, he told himself. Only if there was no other option.

"Are you ready to go?" Rose asked from the doorway when Jake descended the stairs.

"Almost," he answered her, moving to look at his family.

Haley stood in front of their parents, so she first stepped forward and wrapped her arms around her brother, who returned the embrace. After a moment she took a step back.

"Good luck, Jake," she said, a warm smile on her face. "And don't be too long, okay? I need your help with a project tonight," she added in a mock-serious tone.

Jake nodded, understanding what she was saying. "I'll finish her off nice and quick." Haley grinned before moving to the side, as their mother came to where Haley had stood.

"Please be careful," his mother said as she hugged him tightly. "I mean… I know you know what you're doing, but still…" she trailed off, a troubled look on her face, as though she wanted to say something, but was unsure how to find the right words.

Jake smiled. "Don't worry, I'll be careful," he promised, as his mother sighed in relief.

When Susan stepped back, Jonathan moved up and put his hands on his son's shoulders, looking him in the eyes. "This is the first time I get to see you off on one of these missions," he noted, grinning almost excitedly.

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Jake replied, chuckling at the look on his father's face.

Jonathan grinned. "I know you'll do well. I believe in you." He shook Jake's shoulders for emphasis.

Jake looked up at his father. "Thanks, Dad," he said, genuinely grateful for his father's obvious trust in him. It made him feel stronger to know that his family was behind him one hundred percent. But inside, it also saddened him. He didn't know what would happen that day, and part of him knew that this may very well be the last time he ever saw his family. Looking around at his parents and sister, he saw that they understood that too.

Jonathan ruffled Jake's still-red-streaked hair as a final gesture of kindness, before releasing him and taking a step back. Finally Jake turned toward the door, where Lao Shi, Fu Dog, and Rose were standing.

"We should get going," Fu Dog stated to the room at large. Jake nodded and moved toward the door as the dog followed his master outside.

Rose put a hand on Jake's shoulder as he closed the door behind him. "Are you okay?" she asked, a worried frown on her face.

Jake took a deep breath. Apparently his somber attitude had shown, and at that moment what they needed was to be hopeful. More than that, the others needed to see him hopeful. "I'm fine," Jake answered Rose, his tone as light as he could make it. He even managed a smile, which must have looked genuine because Rose breathed a sigh of relief and smiled back.

"Good," she said as they stepped down from the doorstep. "Then let's do this."

"Are you sure you wanna come along?" Jake began carefully. "It's gonna be dangerous, and… well, you know…" He looked down, unable to say what was on his mind.

Rose put a hand on Jake's arm and he raised his head. She was smiling. "We've been through this, haven't we?" Rose said matter-of-factly. "I trust you. We all do. I want to be there for you, okay? Stop trying to talk me out of it."

Defeated, Jake smiled and shook his head. "Alright," he admitted as he reverted to his dragon form, startling Rose somewhat. "Then how 'bout a race?" With that, he jumped into the air, speeding off toward the forest, the pre-dawn sky still pitch dark.

"Hey! No fair!" Rose shouted from the ground. She heard Jake laugh as she leaped upward and willed her glider to materialize beneath her feet. With Lao Shi and Fu Dog behind her, she flew off after Jake, her spirits lifted.

They had been flying for almost an hour, speeding through the air at inhuman velocity. Jake wasn't sure how long it would take, but he knew now that they were almost there. _Just a few more minutes…_ he thought to himself as his eyes scanned the forest floor below him. He knew what he was looking for. He had only now to find it.

"There!" Jake shouted after a few moments. He instantly went into a dive, heading straight down toward the ground. The others barely had time to notice where he was heading before the dark trees hid him from sight.

When they landed, they were in front of a large, old-looking warehouse, which appeared not to have been used in years, maybe even decades. It seemed quite an unstable building, but at least this way, Jake thought, they could avoid any civilian casualties.

After passing around slips of cloth with which to cover their eyes, the four headed for the front entrance, a large, metal door which slid up from the ground by means of a pair of rusted handles a few inches from the bottom.

With only a moment's hesitation, Jake and Lao Shi, both still in dragon form, moved forward and wordlessly took hold of the two handles, pulling them and the sliding door upward to clear the entrance. Inside was dark, as was to be expected considering the blackness of the night sky and obvious age of the building. Jake stepped into the shadowy room, followed closely by his three companions. The darkness inside was thick, the air musty. It was difficult to breathe clearly, and even more difficult to see, although sight wasn't much of a concern when wearing a blindfold. The four stayed close together, each alert for any sound or whisper of movement.

"I know you're in here!" Jake shouted suddenly into the blackness. "You're in the back right corner of the room. Why don't you save us all some time and show yourself?" None of the others were quite sure how exactly he knew this, but they didn't question it, for a second later they heard Ebony's familiar chuckle from the exact direction Jake had claimed her to be.

"Alright, alright," she said at last, as the sound of her footsteps began to draw near, the snakes above her head hissing excitedly. Jake tensed as he felt her approach. "I was only planning to wait until you spoke up. Guess I didn't have to wait as long as I thought I would." Jake didn't reply. He wasn't there to chat, he was there to fight. But it seemed Ebony was content to take things slow. "So, I can't say I'm surprised you came." She was right in front of Jake now. With both arms he carefully pushed the other three back a bit farther, putting more distance between them and their foe. "To be honest," Ebony said directly in Jake's ear, "I expected no less from the great 'American Dragon.'"

The gorgon chuckled again, a sinister sound. Jake didn't move. He held his ground, clenching his jaw firmly to keep from shouting a reply. He was determined not to let Ebony anger him again. It was what she wanted, and it wasn't what she was going to get.

"Hm… I see," Ebony said. With one of her sharp, pointed claws, she reached toward Jake's face, lightly taking hold of the strip of cloth covering his eyes and lifting it ever-so-slightly. In a flash Jake reacted, sweeping up his right arm and knocking hers away from him (and causing the numerous snakes to hiss warningly), stepping instinctively to his left, away from where Ebony was standing.

Ebony clucked her tongue. "Now what fun is it if I don't get to look into those dark, shining eyes of yours?" she complained in a tone of feigned hurt. "Oh, well. I guess if that happened the fight would be over, wouldn't it? It's a shame, though…" She suddenly appeared beside Jake again, though he wasn't sure when and how she had gotten there. He should have felt her move, but it was as if one second she was a few feet away, and the next she was inches from his left side. He tensed as she ran a clawed hand through his hair. "I love what you've done with your hair, by the way. It's very 'you,' don't you think? Or at least," she giggled again, "it will be soon."

This time Jake had to bite his tongue to keep from retorting. He should've known she would bring the conversation to that point eventually. It had been only a matter of time. But that didn't make it any easier for him.

"I'm surprised you've been able to hold out against my curse for so long, you know," Ebony went on casually, absently playing with Jake's hair as she spoke. "You really are stronger than I thought you were. All the more reason for you to be on my side."

"We've been through this," Jake interrupted before she could continue the thought. "I don't give in that easily."

Ebony sighed. "No, I guess you're right," she said, almost sadly. "Looks like you and I are fated to stay on opposite sides of the playing field. You have to admit, though," Ebony was moving closer with each word, so that now Jake could feel her warm breath against the scales on his neck, "it makes things more interesting."

All of a sudden something rammed into Ebony from behind them, sending her stumbling a few feet to the right. A moment later Jake sensed a solid presence next to him and realized it was Rose.

"Stay away from him," Rose threatened dangerously, and Jake felt her drop into a fighting stance.

"Rose, no—" Jake began, trying to force her back behind him. "Don't get involved. Stay back—"

"What's wrong, Huntsgirl?" Ebony crooned. "Afraid I'll steal your dragon boy from you like I did your precious master?" She laughed malevolently as Rose growled in anger.

"The kid's right, Rose," Fu Dog's voice came from behind them. "Don't listen to her. She's just tryin' to get to you." But Rose wasn't listening.

"My uncle was the only family I ever had," Rose said, her voice quaking with fury. "You'll pay for what you did to him!" With that Rose lunged at Ebony, her staff pointed straight for her target.

"No!" Jake shouted, attempting to grab Rose to stop her but unfortunately wasn't quick enough.

Ebony was momentarily caught off guard and barely had time to move swiftly to the side to avoid the attack. She immediately swept her arm forward toward where Rose was standing. Rose, being unpracticed in blind combat, was unable to detect the movement fast enough. Ebony grabbed Rose by the throat and lifted her above the ground. Rose kicked and clawed for freedom, but Ebony's grip was unrelenting.

From the sounds resonating around the room Jake was able to discern what was happening with the two girls across the room. "Let her go!" he shouted, moving forward a step and clenching his fists.

"I'll kill you," Ebony snarled as Rose continued to struggle in her strong hold. "Just like I killed your uncle."

With renewed vigor Rose aimed a particularly powerful kick, which landed its mark on Ebony's stomach. She cried out in pain and annoyance, the snakes which made up her hair hissing and spitting.

"Why, you—!"

"Let her go, Ebony!" Jake shouted more loudly than before, trying to mask the desperation in his voice. "This is between you and me!"

Ebony grunted in reply, before releasing Rose, who dropped to the ground, gasping for breath.

"Alright, for now," she replied. "But only because you asked so nicely."

Jake breathed a sigh of relief as Ebony walked to the center of the room. "Looks like it's time to get this started. Shall we go then?"

Jake turned to face her, though he still couldn't see her through his blindfold. "'Go'?" he repeated, puzzled. "Go where?"

"The battleground," Ebony answered mischievously, her voice betraying the wide grin on her face.

"But I thought—"

"Relax," Ebony interrupted. "Just sit tight. We'll be there in no time."

Suddenly, Jake felt a gust of wind hit him full in the face, and the ground vanished beneath his feet. He felt himself falling, and from the sounds around him he could tell that the others were feeling similar sensations. He didn't remove his blindfold, however, because he was sure Ebony was somewhere nearby.

Then, just as suddenly as the magic had come, it was gone. Jake felt his feet touch hard ground again, but something was different about that ground. It felt as though it was lightly covered in a layer of sand. Jake moved his foot around on the floor to test this theory, and it sure seemed to be true. But it didn't help to quell his confusion.

The area they were in was definitely larger than the warehouse before, and the air was lighter. Not only that, but a light breeze continued to whisk by. And through his blindfold Jake could see light. He could even feel the warmth of the sun. It felt as though they were outside, but at the same time inside. It was an odd sensation, and left Jake feeling confused and lost.

"You can look," Ebony's voice came from a few yards behind him. "I'll stay here, I promise. Besides, why would I want to kill you the easy way and miss out on the fun of fighting you? You can trust me just this once."

Regardless of Ebony's reasoning, Jake was still unsure of whether or not she could truly be trusted, but his curiosity got the better of him. Keeping his back to where her voice had come from, Jake slowly raised a hand and lifted the blindfold an inch or so above his eyes, and froze at what he saw.

They were in what was obviously a giant coliseum, not in ruins as they existed in the present, but fully constructed and appearing exactly as they had in ancient Roman times. Great stands of rows and rows of clay benches rose high on all sides of the round amphitheater, towering over the wide sanded land below, on which Jake and Ebony now stood. The top of the arena was open to the sky, a bright blue sky where the sun shone hot and bright on the people below. There was a wide, dark opening on one end of the ground which led below the stands, directly in front of Jake and about forty yards away. He assumed there was an identical one behind him, but he didn't look to see. The entire sight was breathtaking, looking like a picture from an epic movie scene.

"You can look, too," Ebony shouted, her voice echoing in the wide open area. "I'm too far away right now to be able to see you properly. This way you'll be able to watch from there," she explained excitedly, sounding pleased with herself.

Jake turned to his right and saw who Ebony had been speaking to. High up in the stands, about halfway to the top, sat Rose, Lao Shi, and Fu Dog, all of whom had just taken off their blindfolds and were gaping at the sight in front of them.

"You like it?" Ebony said in her normal voice, obviously speaking to Jake again. "I figured since this battle held the fate of the world, it should take place somewhere spectacular, you know?"

Jake didn't reply, but continued to stare around at the coliseum, taking in his surroundings and trying to remember everything he could about them before he had to obscure his vision once again. It would greatly help him out to know details about where they were fighting. After a moment he pulled his blindfold back in front of his eyes, securing it tightly, and turned to face Ebony.

"So you're ready now?" she began.

"Let's get this over with," Jake replied. He could hear the other three talking from the stands, but they were too far away for him to understand clearly what they were saying. He was glad, though, that at least they were out of harm's way. Where they were now, Ebony couldn't hurt them.

Ebony chuckled, and Jake heard a shuffling sound from her direction. "Good. Then I'll make the first move."

Without giving Jake time to think, Ebony lunged at him with her staff pointed outward. He jumped to the left just in time, and aimed a follow-up kick at her, which she dodged as well. She then swung her staff in a circle, aiming for Jake's right side, but he heard it and ducked to avoid the blow, then immediately leaped into the air to escape a kick Ebony had made to follow her previous attack. Now hovering above Ebony, Jake reflexively dove toward her, grabbing one of her wings and swinging her around, sending her crashing to the ground directly beneath him, her snakes hissing angrily.

"Not bad," Ebony said after landing in a crouched position, sounding unfazed. "Looks like you've been practicing since last time. Let's see how you do when I get serious."

Jake flew a few feet higher as she muttered something that didn't sound like English. _Uh oh, _he thought. _More magic. Great… _Her voice was followed by a snapping sound, and the crackling of flames. Next thing Jake knew, something lresembling a burning hot rope had wrapped around his ankle, yanking him to the ground. Jake yelled as he was slammed into the sandy clay floor, and he heard the three in the stands react. The rope released itself from Jake's ankle as he heard Ebony step toward him.

"What… was that?" Jake said shakily as he sat up and rubbed the back of his head. Ebony chuckled.

"A whip made of solid flame. Like it? A nifty little spell I picked up a few years back. It might not be quite as effective on you, your being a dragon and all, but it should help me out all the same."

Jake heard Ebony crack the whip again, and this time he rolled to his right, avoiding the attack. _That whip extends her reach by at least a few yards,_ Jake analyzed in his head as he continued to dodge the lashes of Ebony's whip. _At least judging by the fact that it was able to grab me from the air like that. I have to be more careful, and hope she doesn't use any more magic._ He knew this hope was likely to be in vain, but it was able to keep him going.

"Come on, Jake," Ebony said playfully. "You're just dodging. Attack me!" She was toying with him, but still Jake couldn't help but feel she had a point. He wasn't going to get anywhere if he just continued to avoid her. He had to find a way to get closer.

_But how?_ he wondered. _That whip keeps me at a distance… I need to get around it to move in closer… _Then he had another thought. _Or I could use it…_ Once more Ebony cracked her whip toward Jake, but this time instead of dodging he threw his left arm up in front of his face, the fiery whip wrapping tightly around it. The flames burned his scales, making him grit his teeth. Immediately Jake used the whip to pull himself toward Ebony, who was still holding the other end. He flew at her and kicked her hard in the stomach. She let go of the whip and it disintegrated into dust.

Ebony stood, grunting in discomfort and dusting herself off. "Clever," she said, her tone slightly less light-hearted than before. "But don't get used to it."

"Aw, why not?" Jake taunted, taking advantage of the change in Ebony's attitude. "I'm just gettin' started!" He leapt upward and dove at Ebony, who used her staff to deflect his attack. He then aimed a punch at her from behind, but when he got close to her head the snakes all faced him and hissed wildly, lunging out as far as they could from her scalp. Jake yelped and backed off.

"You can't get close to me that easily," Ebony said. "They'll make sure of that."

"Hiding behind your 2-foot-long bodyguards?" Jake teased, circling Ebony. "I thought you were braver than that. Guess I'm not the only one who's been overestimated."

Ebony growled fiercely and lunged at Jake, arms outstretched. Jake easily dodged her and spun around, whacking her in the back with his tail, the force of which sent her stumbling to the ground a short distance away.

_She's getting careless,_ Jake noticed as he landed on the sandy floor. _If I keep this up, I might be able to beat her without resorting to plan B…_

"What's wrong, Ebony?" Jake taunted his foe as she stood, breathing heavily. "Never lost a battle before? The way you're fighting now, I find that hard to believe."

"The only one losing this fight," Ebony snarled, her voice sounding deep and harsh, "is you." She murmered another unidentifiable spell under her breath, and not a second later what felt like numerous tight, slimy ropes were wrapping themselves around Jake, pinning his arms and wings to his sides.

_What the…_ Jake wondered internally, before he heard the low hissing sound from all around him. It was then he realized that what had been tightly wrapped around him weren't ropes, but a number of angry, spitting snakes. Jake froze as Ebony's footsteps grew near again.

"You don't wanna struggle too much now," Ebony said, some of the false sweetness returning to her voice. "These western tiger snakes are some of the deadliest in the world. You wouldn't want one of them to bite you now, would you?"

_She could be bluffing…_ Jake reasoned as he stood perfectly still, listening to the snakes hiss around him. _But why would she? I'm sure she could just as easily make a bunch of poisonous snakes appear out of nowhere as she could harmless ones… And besides, she's actually never really lied to us before… _Jake didn't know what to do. She had him trapped, thinking hard for any possible course of action he could take. He could try to break free, but then he would risk getting bitten. But the alternative was only to stand there and wait for Ebony to kill him herself, and that didn't sound any more enjoyable. _Maybe if I'm quick enough…_ he decided. He could still sense Ebony standing a few feet in front of him, waiting for him to make a move. _Well, here goes nothing…_

Jake took a deep breath, then let it out in a jet of blazing-hot fire, aiming it at the numerous tiger snakes encircling his body. They hissed evilly and many released him, slithering away from the intense heat. A few got burned up in the blast. As soon as he could move, Jake leaped at Ebony, his clenched fist colliding with the side of her scaly face. She cried out angrily as she was flung to the hard ground, her own snakes cackling and spitting in annoyance.

As soon as Jake landed again, he felt a sharp pain shoot through his left leg just below his knee, making him howl in pain and stumble to the ground. Still unable to see, he reached for where the jab had come from, and felt the slimy head of one of the snakes he had neglected to finish off. Evidently, it had sunk its teeth into his scales. He grabbed at the snake's body, his teeth clenched tightly, and yanked it away from him. It, like the fiery whip had, melted to dust a moment later.

"That was a bold move," Ebony growled, pulling herself upright. She paused, not moving for a moment, then spoke again, an evil grin evident in her voice. "But apparently, it didn't work out as well as you'd hoped."

Jake lifted his head, still on his hands and knees. "You…" his voice trailed off. Somehow he couldn't find the strength to speak anymore. Instead he glared in Ebony's direction under his blindfold, his teeth gritted in pain and anger. _This is bad… I'm getting weaker by the second…_

"I was really hoping you wouldn't get bitten," Ebony pouted, sounding disappointed. "The poison's probably spread through most of your body already."

All of a sudden, Jake's body reverted to human form, having lost the strength necessary to retain its dragon form. A second later, he felt his arms give out, making him fall to the ground, where he lay on his stomach, pain and weakness coursing through him. _I should've had her…_ Jake couldn't help but think. _That was reckless… I should've thought things through more._ He was vaguely aware of the other three calling his name, and he hoped they had the sense to stay where they were, away from Ebony. He knew she wouldn't show them any mercy, and would kill them instantly if they approached.

Ebony came up and knelt down in front of Jake. She grabbed his shoulders and pulled him up to face her. He still couldn't see her because of the blindfold, but he could sense her proximity. His hands reflexively clenched into fists and his eyes narrowed behind the cloth. His breathing was slowing, and he was beginning to lose feeling in his arms and legs. He wanted to do something, but no matter how hard he willed himself to move, his body wouldn't—couldn't—respond.

Ebony sighed, clucking her tongue. "Well this isn't any fun," she said almost sadly. "I wanted to spend more of this quality time with you, or at least finish you off myself." She paused a moment, seemingly considering something. "Although, I guess there is one thing I could do."

Before Jake could think what she was talking about, she grabbed the front of his shirt and pulled him toward her, forcibly joining her lips with his.

Jake's eyes widened angrily beneath the strip of cloth, but his arms and legs were too weak to react. He heard a loud shuffling sound from up in the stands, but didn't pay it much mind. Jake refused to respond to Ebony's kiss, and frankly was unsure if he even could at the moment, but she didn't seem to mind.

When Ebony released him, Jake fell back to the ground, but was surprisingly able to catch himself with his arms. It was then he realized that a renewed vigor had returned to his body, and he was beginning to regain strength and mobility.

Ebony began to hum as she took a few careless steps away from where Jake still crouched on the sandy floor. She sounded pleased with herself, he noticed, raising his head.

"What… did you…" Jake was still breathing heavily, and had some difficulty speaking.

"Simple," Ebony answered. "I removed the poison from your body. I could've done it from the bite, but where's the fun in that?" She laughed, and Jake could tell her back was to him.

_Why would she do that? _Jake wondered to himself, confused. _She could've won… The fight would be over. But she saved me… Why?_ Then as he listened to Ebony's humming and heard her laughter in his head, it became clear. _She's toying with me. This is all just a game to her, she's not taking this fight seriously at all. She could've let me die, but she didn't, just to show that she's got my life in the palm of her hand. She can end this at any time, or she can keep it going as long as she wants._ Jake sighed, shaking his head. _I guess that means I don't have any other choice…_

Jake stood up slowly, testing the movement of his arms and legs, before changing back to his dragon form. Ebony turned to face him from where she stood.

"Ready to go again?" she asked pleasantly, as if inviting him on a carnival ride.

Jake ignored her, instead focusing all his attention on the mental barriers he had set up around the effects of the curse in his mind, and with only a moment's hesitation, he dropped them. Immediately a dagger of pain shot through his brain, and he yelled and clutched the sides of his head tightly, hunching over.

"What are you doing?" Ebony demanded, all friendliness gone from her voice. She sounded anxious, almost afraid.

Jake lifted his head as far as he could, until he was facing Ebony, and answered, "Plan B." Then the pounding in his head increased, spreading through his entire body, and Jake threw back his head and screamed into the sky. He fought with all his might to keep from losing consciousness as he had before. He felt that as long as he was conscious, he had the power to stop this if it got too far. But he needed the help of the curse if he wanted to beat Ebony, and as Rose had said the previous night, if anything could defeat her, this was it.

As the seconds ticked by, Jake could feel his body changing. His scales were softening and growing into fur. His claws were lengthening, becoming sharper. His entire body was stretching, becoming taller and broader. The blindfold covering his eyes was torn in the process, falling uselessly to the sand in many pieces.

The last thing to happen was that a wave of immense anger and hate washed over Jake, completely obliterating any other sane emotion. All that remained was the urge, the need to kill. He looked at Ebony standing wide-eyed in front of him, and lunged for her, claws outstretched, fangs bared, golden eyes shining with malice.

* * *

Well there it is :D I like writing fight scenes, they're fun :). Haha. And this is getting exciting, huh? Next chapter should be good one. I'll try and get it done soon. I know I always say that, so who knows when it'll actually be up, but oh well. It definitely will be, you can trust me on that.

Till then!

-oMM


	21. Convictions

Less than a month, not bad, eh? Haha. Well, not for me at least. Anyway, here it is finally! The exciting end of the final battle! Well, I hope it's exciting... I like it, at least. But I like everything I write, otherwise I wouldn't write it, right? (that sentence had too many write/rights in it... sounded odd... haha).

Anyway, enough of my blathering! Let's get to the story!

* * *

_What… What is he doing?_

From her place high in the dusty, uncomfortable stands, Rose was watching the scene below her with wide, fearful eyes. She was standing, hunched over the back of the bench in front of her. Lao Shi and Fu Dog were each holding onto one of her arms, which they had grabbed a few moments ago to keep her from jumping onto the field when Ebony had kissed Jake. Their grips had loosened considerably, however, as they too were staring bewitched at what was happening below.

Jake had just seemingly willingly allowed the same curse he had been fighting for the past week and a half to fully consume him, and now what they were looking at in his place was an eight-foot-tall, red, hairy monster, with long, gray claws and frightening golden eyes, which was standing there menacingly, staring Ebony down.

"What's going on down there?" Fu Dog asked in awe. "Did he just…"

Lao Shi tilted his head to the side, his one eye narrowed. "It… appears so…"

Fu Dog shook his head, leaning forward farther to try and get a better look. "But why? What's that kid thinking?"

"Perhaps," Lao Shi continued, rubbing his chin, "Jake believes that he does not have the power to defeat Ebony, and he thinks that maybe with the help of the curse, he can."

Rose's eyes widened as she remembered the conversation she and Jake had had earlier that night. _That's right… What I said then…_

"What?" Fu Dog exclaimed. "Where'd he get an idea like that?"

"Um…" Rose spoke up. The others looked at her, surprised. "I may have said something about that curse being stronger than Ebony… I guess he took it more seriously than I thought he would." She sighed, burying her head in her hands. "And now he could… This is all my fault."

Fu Dog put a hand on Rose's shoulder. "Look, Rose," he began comfortingly. "Don't do that. Don't blame yourself. You know Jake, right?" Rose looked up, a tear on the edge of her eye. "What he wants more than anything is to protect those he cares about. And to do that, he gets these wild ideas that we don't usually think'll work. But you know what? He always, _always _comes through in the end. So don't beat yourself up about it, okay?"

Rose nodded, but she didn't feel entirely reassured. _Still… If it wasn't for me he never would've gotten the idea in the first place._

Down on the ground, Jake had lunged at Ebony, who had been looking on with obvious surprise and interest. He was no longer blindfolded, but it didn't seem to matter. Apparently, Jake's curse form was immune to Ebony's petrification. Caught completely off guard, Ebony hadn't even the smallest window of time in which to evade the coming attack, and Jake rammed into her full force. She was thrown to the ground, a cloud of dust rising around her, as her assailant dashed behind her with incredible speed, grabbing her by her right wing and flinging her in a full half-circle over his head, where she was once again brought into rough contact with the sandy floor.

"Whoa!" Fu Dog exclaimed, leaning even farther over the edge of the bench. "Did you see that? I don't think I've ever seen anything move that fast!"

"Yes," Lao Shi replied slowly, though he was obviously watching the battle with just as much intensity. "It seems the tables have turned… This creature is more dangerous than we thought."

_I hope he's okay…_ Rose silently prayed, her worried gaze fixed on the two below.

Ebony stood quickly, turning around just in time to duck under an arced swipe of Jake's claws. She flipped backward, landing a safe distance away, and put a hand on her glass-head staff. Immediately it began to glow a striking violet, and Rose noticed her lips were opening and closing rapidly, as though she was whispering something. As Jake jumped toward her again, she flung her hand out toward him, and a beam of shining purple light shot out from her staff head, hitting Jake squarely in the chest. He growled fiercely and was thrown backward, sliding across the dusty ground.

"Jake!" Rose shouted, as Fu Dog and Lao Shi expressed their surprise as well. As Jake stood, it seemed as though for a moment the brilliance of his crimson fur seemed to fade, but he shook his head and roared again, and the color was instantly back.

This time keeping his distance, Jake faced Ebony, who was watching him smugly. He growled menacingly, raising his right hand in the air. A bright, golden light, faint and pale at first but rapidly becoming more and more iridescent, formed around his fist and mirrored in his wild eyes. Ebony opened her mouth to begin another spell, but Jake raised his arm above his head and with the same inhuman speed as before swung it down, the intense yellow orb detaching itself from his hand and speeding toward his foe. Ebony's cocky smile vanished instantly just as the circle of light collided with her stomach. She shrieked in pain as she was enveloped in a bright flash of light, the three in the stands being forced to shield their eyes momentarily at its brilliance.

When Rose lowered her arm from her vision, she saw Ebony hunched over, clutching her stomach with both hands. After a moment, she raised her head, a look of pure fury on her face. Her cloak had been burned around the wound, and blood was escaping from beneath her arms.

"_No one does that to me!_" she howled, swinging her staff in front of her. She began rapidly twirling it in a circle, its violet glow streaking across the air, forming a shining amethyst ring in front of her at arm's length.

"What's she doing?" Rose asked, not particularly liking the look of it.

"I dunno," Fu Dog replied, "but I can bet'cha it won't be good…"

During all this, unbeknownst to the others, Jake had been fighting not one but two battles simultaneously. The one with Ebony of course was the first, but the second was with himself. Or rather, what was trying to completely overcome him. He had allowed the curse passage and temporary control of his body, but it seemed that it wasn't satisfied with this exchange. It wanted to take over completely, it wanted his body for its own, and Jake was determined to keep it from it. So as the curse continued to fight Ebony, Jake continued to fight the curse, and was finding it increasingly difficult. All he could feel was rage, anger, hatred. He wanted to attack Ebony, to destroy her, and if he let the curse have its way, he might end up doing just that.

After being hit by the beam of golden light, Ebony shouted something, some threat, Jake was sure, though for some reason he couldn't hear it properly. Then she stood and began to swing her glowing staff in a great arc before her, forming a circle of increasing speed. With clenched teeth Jake watched her, trying both to keep himself from running at her full force and to ready himself for whatever it was she was doing. He could feel his legs trying to propel him forward, to disobey his order, but he was determined not to let them.

Then, Ebony opened her mouth to speak again, to utter a spell, but her words were drowned out by the sudden sound of running electricity as the violet ring formed by her swirling staff began to spark dangerously. Realizing an instant too late what was about to happen, Jake's eyes widened and he made to jump backward, but this time he wasn't quick enough. A massive streak of purple lightning shot forward from the center of the ring of light, hitting Jake directly in the chest.

He screamed in pain (or thought he did, although it sounded more like a howling roar) as the electricity coursed through him, freezing him to the spot and causing his fur to stand on end. It felt as though every cell in his body was screaming in agony, wanting to burst from the strain of the powerful voltage running through them. The crackling sound of electric sparks filled his ears, drowning out all other sound and threatening to blast his eardrums.

For a moment he thought he heard someone call his name from close by. Then suddenly the sparking sound ceased, and the violet light vanished. Jake could move again, and the first thing he did was collapse onto his knees, breathing heavily, his body still feeling as though it were on fire.

Hearing Ebony snarl in anger, he raised his head as far as he could, just enough to see what was going on in front of him. It took a moment for the spots and neon flashes blocking his vision to clear, and when they did he saw Ebony on the ground, her staff at her feet, and Rose picking herself up from a few feet away.

Jake tried to say her name, to ask what she was doing, but his voice came out a low, menacing growl. Rose quickly stood and rushed over to him. He wanted more than anything to tell her to get back to the stands, but now that his body could move again, he could feel the curse fighting to take control, to continue its murderous rampage. His body was tired, and it seemed as though the curse was having a difficult time claiming him because of it, but still, if Rose got too close…

"Jake!" Rose was shouting. "Are you okay?"

_No,_ Jake wanted to say, his head in his hands as he fought off what was coming. _Get away from me..._

"Jake…" she said, sounding worried and kneeling in front of him. Jake couldn't respond. It was taking all his conscious power to keep from attacking her.

"Rose!" Fu Dog shouted from somewhere nearby. "Watch out! Get outta there!"

He couldn't stop it anymore, the curse was too strong. With an anguished cry Jake raised his arm above his head, spreading his claws. Rose's eyes widened. Then, to Jake's surprise (and relief), something small and gray rammed into Rose from the side, shoving her forcefully out of the way and sending both of them to the dusty floor just as Jake swung his arm, which ended up striking through only air.

"Rose, what the heck are you _doing?_" Fu Dog exclaimed as he jumped up and pulled her out of the way. She muttered something in response, something Jake didn't catch. His legs had started moving again, dragging him toward where Ebony was picking herself up from the ground.

Forsaking her staff, she instead threw herself at Jake, who dodged her just in time, instead leaping behind her and landing a kick on her back. She stumbled forward, turned around, and swung at him. He sidestepped to the right, but she twirled around and landed almost on top of him, grabbing his arms and shoving him and herself to the ground. Her claws dug deeply into his upper arms, making him growl in pain, as trails of blood began to stream down his arms, blending in with his fur. She had him pinned to the ground, a hideous snarl on her face.

His arms throbbing painfully with Ebony's long talons still pierced through them, Jake momentarily lost focus on his battle with the curse. It seemed to take advantage of this and a fresh wave of fury swept over him in his moment of weakness. He spread his claws on his right hand, his fingers tensing up, as Ebony continued to glare and dig her nails further into his skin. Then, being unable to stop it, his arm lunged upward, lodging his long claws firmly in Ebony's stomach.

She howled, pulling her arms from his and falling to the side. Jake shouted in pain as well, both at the sudden extraction of her claws and from the pain shooting through his head. As fresh blood began to pour from the wounds in his arms, however, the curse suddenly seemed to weaken, to lose its control. It seemed as though his body was becoming too weak to retain the form of the crimson beast, and his mind was threatening to lose consciousness. Whatever the case, Jake soon found the fury inside him subsiding, the pain in his head lulling to a dull ache. He could feel the fur covering him disappearing, the claws retracting. Soon enough, he was his old self again, his black hair dirty and mussed and his clothes torn and wrinkled.

As soon as the influence of the curse was gone, however, the residual pain in his body from the electric shock intensified, as though it had been suppressed by the presence of the curse. His head ached, his chest burned, and the tips of his fingers felt as if he'd stuck them in a fryer. Not to mention the deep cuts in his upper arms, which were still oozing blood onto the ground on which he lay.

"Jake!" Rose shouted again from not far off. She ran up to him again, and this time Lao Shi and Fu Dog joined her. "Are you alright?"

Jake sat up slowly, grunting and squeezing his eyes shut as pain shot through his arms at the strain. "Yeah…" he said, though he wasn't sure if that were true. "I think so…"

He looked around warily as he stood with the help of the others. Ebony's staff was lying a few feet to his right, and Ebony herself was on his other side. He didn't raise his eyes higher than the wound on her abdomen, because his blindfold had been lost long ago and he didn't want to chance looking into her eyes. She was still breathing, he noticed, and her snakes were hissing softly. Slowly she sat up.

"This… isn't… over… Dragon…" she grunted between hasty breaths. Still not looking at her, and making sure the other three had closed their eyes, Jake turned away from Ebony and picked her staff up from the ground. The violet glow inside its head had faded, but was still faintly present. He turned to face her, head lowered. "What are you doing?" she demanded, getting shakily to her feet.

"Getting out of here," Jake answered through clenched teeth. Then without giving Ebony time to react, he raised her staff high above his head, swung it down with all his might, and smashed it on the ground, where it instantly shattered.

Ebony shouted in protest as all of a sudden they were enveloped in darkness once more, shooting through the blackness at an alarming speed.

They arrived back at the abandoned warehouse in no time, just as light was beginning to stream through the windows high above the ground. Jake looked around carefully. Ebony was over to his right, on her hands and knees, staring at the ground. Rose, Lao Shi, and Fu Dog were to his left, all sitting up and rubbing their heads.

"You guys okay?" Jake asked somewhat weakly, making his way over to them.

"Yeah," Fu Dog answered without looking up. Upon raising his eyes, however, he yelped in surprise. "But forget us, kid, you're a wreck!"

Jake shook his head, a small smile forming on his lips. "I'm fine," he said. "Just a little worn out is all."

"We should get out of here," Rose suggested anxiously.

"Yes," Lao Shi agreed. "Let us leave."

"I thought… I told you…" Ebony's voice growled from behind them, "that this isn't over!" All of a sudden Jake felt something grab him from behind as Ebony dragged him to the ground. She made to jump at him again, but he rolled out of the way. He jumped up again, causing his legs to shake with weariness, and was vaguely aware of the others calling his name, though he hoped they had enough sense to wait where they were.

Eyes held tightly shut, Jake heard Ebony's ragged breathing approaching from his left, giving him time to flip backwards as she swiped her arm at him. He had overestimated his body's recovery, however, and when his arms hit the ground they buckled beneath him, causing him to fall and land on his stomach on the cold, cement floor of the warehouse. He stood as best he could, but as soon as he did Ebony was in front of him. She aimed another swipe of her claws, and Jake, having no time to move, threw his arms up in front of his face, causing her sharp talons to slice through them, tearing his sleeves and digging into his skin. The force of the attack caused him to lose his balance, making him fall backward and land on the ground. As he did, something crunched painfully beneath him. Turning his head and opening his eyes, he noticed the broken glass that had once been Ebony's staff head, a tiny bit of his reflection staring back at him from each one. As he looked at the shards of varying size, he suddenly got an idea.

As Ebony snarled and stepped toward him again, Jake grabbed a rather large piece of the thick, opaque glass and flung it up in front of his face, holding it tightly between the two of them and blocking Ebony from view.

"_What?_" Ebony cried as the shard was thrust into her field of vision and she was forced to lay eyes on it. "_NO!_" she shrieked as the piece of glass began to shake violently. Jake held onto the glass firmly as its sharp edges cut into his hands, grinding his teeth against the searing pain as Ebony continued to scream, her shrill voice cutting through the air and echoing off the high walls. Jake wanted to cover his ears to protect them from her cry, but he couldn't let go of the shard. And then, finally, it was over.

As the room at last quieted, Jake lowered the piece of glass, setting it down carefully on the floor, its edges now crimson from his blood. He slowly turned his head to face where Ebony had been standing, and saw in her place a solid, stone figure, wings spread to their full length and snakes' mouths opened wide as if held in suspended animation. On her face was a horrible expression, a mixture of anger, fear, hatred, and shock, forever frozen in that position.

"Is she… dead?" Rose asked quietly from somewhere behind the stone statue. Jake was about to reply when suddenly the figure began to tremble, its rocky foundations making the ground below them rumble.

Realizing what was about to happen, Jake lunged to the side to look around at the others and shouted, "GET DOWN!" He threw his arms over his head just as a deafening explosion split the air and millions of rocks, both dull and sharp, large and small, were sent flying in every direction. A few hit Jake on the back, and he assumed the others had experienced the same.

Once the fallen rocks had settled Jake lifted his head once more to look around. Ebony's statue was gone, and the ground was now littered with small fractions of the same material. Jake looked across the room to see the other three rising and inspecting the room as well.

"Wow…" Fu Dog said in wonder. "That was weird…"

"So it's finally over…" Rose sighed, running a hand through her hair. "She's finally gone."

In spite of the pain still shooting through his body, Jake grinned in satisfaction. They'd done it, Ebony had been defeated. And this time, for good. One thing still troubled him, though. And that, of course, was the curse. It was still there, he knew it, and they still had no way of stopping it. Back at the coliseum, he had almost hurt Rose. In fact, he would have if Fu Dog hadn't intervened and saved her. And that scared him, to know that he was indeed capable of harming the ones he cared about, and there was nothing he could do stop it.

"Jake?" Lao Shi said from across the room, shaking his grandson out of his thoughts. "It is time to go."

"Right," Jake said. He began making his was over to them, stepping over the numerous rock shards to do so. After he had moved only a few steps, however, the ground began to shake again. Jake frowned and looked around, as a creaking sound reverberated through the room. His eyes widened. "Uh-oh…"

"Time to split!" Fu Dog shouted, as he too realized what was happening. They all sprinted for the door they had come in. Before they could get there, though, a great _crash_ sounded from above them, and they felt the building tremble around them. Suddenly, a bit of the ceiling of the floor above them broke away, falling straight toward where they were standing.

"Watch out!" Jake shouted as the rubble neared them. He dove to the side, grabbing Rose around the waist as he did so. Lao Shi reverted to his dragon form and picked up Fu Dog before gliding out of the way, all four landing safely a few feet away as the rubble landed with a powerful _crash_, blocking their path.

"Okay…" Fu Dog huffed, sounding annoyed. "Guess we're not getting out that way…"

"But I don't see any other doors!" Rose responded frantically as they all scanned the room. "What are we gonna do?"

"Wait!" Fu Dog said suddenly. He reached into one of the folds of his fur (where he sometimes liked to store things) and produced a vial containing a very small amount of a strange, pale blue liquid that was bubbling slightly. "Instant exit," he said proudly, shaking the vial. "There's not much left, though, so we'll have to hurry." He then turned toward the nearest wall and threw the vial as hard as he could, where it smashed against the cement. For a moment the liquid did nothing, but then, all of a sudden, the bit of wall which had been dampened by the potion disappeared, revealing the outside rays of the rising sun. "Ha ha!"

"Let's go!" Lao Shi said quickly, not giving them time to wonder at the strange sight they had just seen. But he was right, they needed to hurry, because the hole was rapidly shrinking before their eyes, and soon the wall would return.

Fu Dog reached the hole first. He jumped through and then reached into the hole again, grabbing onto an edge with each hand. The closing of the hole slowed as he held it open. "Come on!"

Rose followed, jumping through as though diving into a swimming pool and landing in a somersault on the grass outside. She immediately turned back to face the hole.

"Go!" Jake shouted at his grandfather, who nodded and flew through the still-shrinking opening, his dragon form just barely slim enough to fit through.

"C'mon, kid!" Fu Dog yelled as he tried with all his might to hold the edges of the hole where they were. The problem was, however, that the opening was now only about a foot wide, and as it was, there was no way Jake was going to fit through it.

"It's okay, let it go!" Jake replied, seeing the dog struggle with the hole. "I'll… find another way out!"

Rose ran up to look back at him into the opening, desperation in her eyes. "No! Jake, come on, you have to come with us!"

"You know I'm not gonna fit through there," Jake said, fixing her with a pointed look. "And besides, if Fu has to hold that thing any longer it looks like his eyes'll pop out of his head," he added, trying to keep his voice light. The situation didn't seem as desperate if he could joke about it, right?

"Very funny, kid," Fu Dog said sarcastically through strained breath.

Rose continued to look at Jake with the same frightened eyes. "Just… Promise me you'll find another way, okay?"

Jake hesitated for only a second, before smiling as convincingly as he could. "Yeah, I promise," he said, hating himself for saying it. For a moment he caught his grandfather's eye, to see him eyeing him suspiciously, before he heard a loud crash behind him and looked over his shoulder as another large piece of debris fell to the ground. He turned back to Rose, who was looking even more worried. "Just go! You're running out of time!"

She nodded slowly, before ducking backward out of the way. Fu Dog looked at Jake one more time as soon as Rose was back behind him. His eyes were soft, almost sad, and Jake had a feeling his act hadn't been as convincing as he'd thought. He looked back at the dog, sure the same sadness was showing in his eyes as well, before he let go of the hole, and the opening finally closed, darkness spreading through the room once again.

Still staring at the spot where the hole had just been, Jake took a few slow steps backward, allowing himself to fall to his knees as bits and pieces of rubble continued to fall around him.

"I'm sorry…" was the last thing he said, as an overwhelming sense of heartache washed over him, "...I can't keep that promise."

-0-0-0-

As soon as Fu Dog let go of the opening in the wall, all three of them turned and sprinted a few yards away, until they were a safe distance from the collapsing building, which looked even more a wreck from the outside.

Fu Dog took a deep breath, swallowing hard. "…He's not coming, is he?"

Rose jumped at the sound of his voice and turned toward him in disbelief. "What do you mean?"

"No," Lao Shi answered quietly, his head down. "I'm afraid not."

"I didn't think so…" the dog admitted sadly, tearing his eyes away from the warehouse.

"Wait!" Rose protested frantically, not understanding what they were saying. "But… He promised! He said he'd find another way! What do you mean 'he's not coming'?"

Fu Dog didn't say anything, instead only stared at the ground. Lao Shi turned to look Rose in the eye.

"Jake believes that the only way to protect us all from the curse he is under," the old man explained, his voice sounding tired and strained, as if he had difficulty speaking, "…is for him to die."

"Wh-What?" Rose whispered, her eyes wide with tears. She shook her head violently, shouting, "No! That's stupid! Why would he think that? We've all been fine up until now! He hasn't hurt anyone! Why would he—?"

"Did you forget he almost killed you in there?" Fu Dog interrupted her suddenly, and she fell silent. "If I hadn't pushed you outta the way, he woulda…" he paused, before shaking his head and continuing. "He knows what almost happened. And he would do anything to keep it from happening again. Even…" his voice trailed off, though Rose knew what he was thinking.

"B-But… Still… There has to be another—"

"Jake is willing to die to protect the ones he loves," Lao Shi interrupted her, still sounding as though every word cost him a great effort. "We should honor his decision, his resolve, and his memory… by living."

Rose looked up at him, shaking her head in disbelief. "I…"

Her voice was drowned out, suddenly, by a great rumble and a loud _crash_ that rang through the air. The three looked over to see the building before them cave in, collapsing on itself and crushing everything within.

"NO!" Rose screamed. She made to run forward, but Lao Shi and Fu Dog grabbed her arms, keeping her from running into the blast.

"Hey, cut it out!" Fu Dog shouted over the din. "You can't go back there!"

"But—Jake—!"

"Rose! Stop!" the dog yelled forcefully, grabbing her shoulders and looking her in the eyes. She stopped fighting and looked back. "He's gone."

Rose's arms fell to her sides, her head still moving back and forth ever so slightly. Fu Dog and Lao Shi let go of her arms, and she fell to her knees, eyes staring blankly at the wreckage of the warehouse. Then, with nothing left to do, she buried her face in her hands and cried.

* * *

Well! That's that! The climax is officially over, and now the only step left is the resolution! So the next chapter will be the last one of the official story, although there WILL be an epilogue after that. Hopefully, though, I'll be able to get both of those up on the same night. An epilogue isn't something you really put off for long, I've found you pretty much have to write it right after finishing the story. Well, I do at least. So maybe I'll write it and just wait a little while to post it, just to sort of let the ending sit. But I'm getting ahead of myself, we're not there yet!

Hope you enjoyed the final battle to the death! I really do like writing battles, and now all that's left is the ending-emotional stuff... so it may take me a little bit (no more than a few weeks, I'm sure) since emotional stuff's harder for me to write. But I'll get it up as soon as I can!

Now be a kind-hearted soul and review for me please? The more reviews I get, the more excited it makes me that I know people are actually reading this ridiculous thing, so I feel more motivated to update. You want that, don't you? Haha :D

Till next time!

-oMM


	22. Futures

Wow... okay, so I honestly did start writing this in like May (which is still a long time from February, but it's a start...), and worked on it for a little while, then my computer decided to go one strike and just not turn on. And of course, I never backed up any of the files. So it was a while before I took it to get fixed, then it was a week or so until I at least got to back up everything I had on it, which was when I finally got this back. That was about two weeks ago. So yeah, I went like two months without anything... it was hell, I swear. Argh... But guess what? LAST REAL CHAPTER! IT'S FINALLY UP! And it's more lengthy than I thought it was gonna be. So I guess that's good for you guys right? Anyway, I really am sorry it took so long. I so would have computer problems right when I start working on this again... Cuz life hates me like that (still haven't gotten the actual computer back, btw... and I go back to college in a week! I neeeeed it before then...). Anyway, enough of my ranting and apologies and excuses, enjoy the resolution!

* * *

"_What are you doing?"_

"_Getting out of here."_

_CRASH_

_This darkness again… He broke my spell! We're going back! Arrrggghhh… But my staff… That idiot! He smashed it! How? How could he do this to me? I offered him power… _my _power… But the fool rejected me… Why? I don't understand… Why go on, weak as he is, when he can be stronger with me? But no… I gave him a chance… And he turned me away… He tried to destroy me… But it's not over yet… Not after everything I've done… He may have broken my spell, but he hasn't broken me. I'll get him for this…_

"_We should get out of here."_

"_Yes. Let us leave."_

_No! You're not going anywhere…_

"_I thought… I told you… that this isn't over!"_

_I'll get him… He won't get away from me… Argh! How does he keep dodging? What's…wrong with me? My breathing… slow… ragged… It doesn't sound like me… Ugh, why won't they all stop yelling? Just shut up! My head… Make it stop… He's down! Now I can… claws… He didn't dodge… I've got him! Wait… that's…my staff…? The glass… What's he—_

"_What?" That… In the glass… It can't be—My—_

"_NO!"_

"We are now preparing to land in the Detroit Airport. Please make sure your seats are in their upright and locked position and all cell phones and electronic devices are powered down."

Gregory Gray woke with a start at the sound of the stewardess's voice coming over the intercom. _Finally…_ he thought somewhat bitterly. The plane was supposed to have landed in Detroit almost three days ago, but after numerous delays because of strange attacks having been seen in nearby areas, the flight hadn't been able to depart until around midnight the previous night. And even then the pilot had been forced to take a detour, a much longer detour, to avoid a similar situation in the Indianapolis region. And now it was just past sunrise and the plane was finally about to land. The most aggravating part of the whole ordeal, however, had been the complete lack of solid information which was revealed to the flight's distressed passengers. As far as they all knew, the country was suffering from a series of strange terrorist attacks in numerous cities and towns in the New England area.

As he reflexively followed the stewardess's instructions for landing, Gregory's eyebrows creased into a frown at the troubling memories of the dream he had been shaken from. It had been as though he was in someone else's mind. He saw nothing, only darkness, but he felt their emotions, heard their thoughts. It was a strange sensation, horrifying even. Especially since he knew that the person whose consciousness he had infiltrated had been his daughter.

He didn't want to believe it, as he joined the mob of disgruntled passengers now filing out of the plane, but because of the thoughts he'd witnessed he knew it to be true: Ebony had been behind the strange 'terrorist' attacks. She had sent him away to protect him from what she was going to do. He didn't understand why she'd done any of it, but somehow he didn't feel he needed to. Though it tore at his heart to think it, he also knew that what he had witnessed from inside her mind had been his daughter's last moments. She had done the unthinkable, and now because of it, she was gone, and he was here, safe. She wouldn't be following him as she'd promised that morning she'd given him the ticket. He was alone. But still, as he waited to claim his luggage and start his new life in Michigan, he made a silent promise to honor her request. After all, she was the only thing he'd had to love after losing his wife so many years ago. And he would not forget what she'd done for him.

-0-0-0-

"Are you sure about this? You know you're always welcome to stay with us."

Rose shook her head at the group of people before her, a drop of moisture falling from her eyelash for what felt like the millionth time in the past two days. "Thank you, Mrs. Long, but I can't. I can't stay here anymore… My uncle was the only family I had. I said I would stay and help fight Ebony, but now that it's over I have to move on. Especially after… you know…" She shifted the pack slung over her shoulder as she glanced at the floor, her throat feeling dry. She couldn't stay in this city anymore, she'd decided. She'd lost too many important people here in such short a time, and she didn't want to be haunted by the memories any more than she had to.

"Just promise us you'll visit now and then?" Susan said, her voice soft as she put an arm around her daughter, who watched Rose with glistening eyes.

Rose smiled somewhat sadly. "I'm not sure I can make that promise, but I'll do what I can."

Jonathan offered his hand, which Rose shook. "Good luck, then. We hope you find whatever it is you're looking for."

She sighed, a wry smile spreading briefly across her face. "I just wish I knew what that was…"

"Thank you," Susan breathed as she stepped forward and hugged Rose, who twitched uncomfortably at first before returning the embrace. "For everything."

"But…" Rose began with a frown as they parted, "I couldn't save him…"

Susan shook her head. "If it wasn't for you, we never would've been able to defeat Ebony. I know it was you that gave Jake the courage to fight her, to keep going. I'm a mother, I notice these things." She winked knowingly before stepping back between her husband and daughter, leaving Rose feeling reassured and happy. Haley came forward then and gave Rose a tight hug as well, her eyes still bright with tears.

"Are you sure you can't at least come to his funeral?" Haley asked solemnly. "You and I both know he'd want you there."

Rose bit her bottom lip, looking down. "…I'm sorry…" She was leaving New York to escape all the memories of what had happened in the past few weeks. Attending Jake's funeral would have the opposite effect, so as much as she knew she should go, she couldn't.

"Take care of yourself, okay?" the eleven-year-old said after a moment, and Rose smiled and nodded as she turned toward the door.

She stopped and faced them one last time, her hand on the doorknob. "Tell Lao Shi and Fu Dog… that it was nice, being on the same side. I'm glad I got to give it a chance, at least once." They all nodded their heads, and Rose raised a hand in farewell as she stepped out over the threshold, closing the door on the only ones left in the world whom she'd ever felt close to.

Haley continued to stare at the solid, closed door after Rose's form retreated through it. It was strange to think about how things just seemed to keep disappearing from her life. Strange, and frightening. She didn't want to think about it, but watching the plain, wooden door, it was hard to forget.

"Haley, can I ask you something?" Susan began hesitantly. Haley turned to look at her mother, noticing that her father was no longer standing in the entry way. She didn't respond, but her mother knew she was listening. "I would like… for you to speak at the funeral."

Haley's eyebrows creased in confusion. "Me?" she asked, uncertainty in her voice. "But… why me?"

"Because," her mother explained as she knelt down to look at her more directly. "You knew Jake better than any of us. You shared many of his problems, his responsibilities, his worries, but also his laughs and smiles. You were with him for longer than any of his friends were, and closer to him than your dad and I could be. That's why I think it should be you."

Haley looked down, a frown still gracing her face. "I don't know if I…"

"Don't worry," Susan said, putting her hands on her daughter's shoulders. "You don't have to decide right now. The funeral's not for three days. Just promise me you'll think about it, okay?" Haley nodded, agreeing to do at least that, as Susan stood up. "And just remember: I wouldn't have asked you if I didn't think you could do it. You're a very intelligent young lady. I know you'll make the right choice." She smiled warmly, though Haley could swear she saw a hint of sadness in her eyes, a sadness she was sure was mirrored in her own face as well. After all, they had all lost someone who'd meant the world to each of them. There was nothing like losing a loved one, as Haley was beginning to realize. And nothing could ever make up for it.

As she turned and began slowly ascending the stairs toward her room, Haley thought about her mother's proposal. Susan always said that Haley could do anything she put her mind to… But giving a eulogy at her brother's funeral was by no means something she'd ever thought she'd have to do. It was an overwhelming thought, a terrifying one. But more than anything else, if she agreed to speak at his funeral it would mean one thing: Jake was really gone, and she had to go on living without him. And that was something she didn't want to think about.

She was headed for her bedroom at the end of the hall, probably in order to think over this decision that now weighed over her, but as she passed the second door on the right she paused, turning to face it. On an impulse, she reached for the doorknob, turned it, and pushed the door open.

As she stepped inside, all previous thoughts and worries were swept from her mind, and a fresh wave of sadness and regret washed over her. Jake's room looked exactly as he'd left it two days ago. The blankets on his bed were pushed back, as though he'd thrown them aside in a hurry. There were clothes on the floor, the closet door was open, even the desk lamp was still on, throwing a stream of orange light across some unfinished sheets of homework strewn across the desktop. It was as though the room didn't know he wasn't coming back, as if it expected him to come in at any moment and finish the homework or take a nap in the bed. In fact, being inside the room, Haley began to get the same feeling, and once she even spun around abruptly, half-expecting to see Jake standing there, asking her what she was doing in his room. But when she turned, there was no one there, only the golden light from the hallway, casting her shadow across the floor of the bedroom.

She turned back away from the hall, a mirthless laugh escaping her lips at her foolishness. Of course Jake wouldn't be there, he was dead. Gone. He'd never set foot in this room, or this house, again. That thought, however, only succeeded in bringing fresh tears to her eyes. This time, though, she didn't fight them. She let them fall, dripping from the corners of her face to the cold, gray carpet of Jake's room, where they formed a small puddle. She watched as the puddle sank slowly into the fabric, as if the room were absorbing her sorrow, holding it there forever.

After a moment she walked over to Jake's desk and sat down. She folded her hands over the wrinkled papers and closed her eyes, trying to imagine what Jake was doing when he last sat there. All of a sudden an image of him flashed before her mind's eye. She only saw it for a second, but in that instant she memorized every detail. It was night, moonlight was streaming in through the window. The desk light was on, casting a dim glow on the form of Jake slouched over the desk. He was writing something. Not hurriedly, so it couldn't have been homework. He was moving very slowly, as if thinking hard about every movement, every stroke of the pen. She couldn't see his face, but still he seemed tired, worried, maybe even afraid. Somehow she knew that this was what he was doing the night before the big battle with Ebony. The second drawer down on the left side of the desk was open just a crack. She wasn't sure why, but this seemed significant somehow.

And then just as suddenly it was gone, and Haley was once again alone in the dimly-lit, empty bedroom, staring at the wall in front of her, her hands gripping the edges of the desktop. Instinctively she glanced at the second drawer on the left, the one which had been open in her vision. It was closed now, however, with nothing left to set it apart from the other desk compartments.

She stared at it for a moment, but was unable to keep still for long. She reached for the drawer handle and pulled it open carefully, as though it held the most valuable thing in the world. Inside was a stack of old school notebooks. On top of the stack, however, was a single white envelope. And on the envelope a lone word was written: _Haley._

Haley's breath caught in her throat as she reached out a shaking hand and picked it up. She stared at it for a moment, hardly believing what she was seeing. _My name… That's my name… Is this what he was writing that night? But then… what could it…_

Her hand still quaking, she gently slid her finger under the seal and removed the folded sheet of paper from inside, spreading it out. She had no problem deciphering the words scrawled across it; she'd always somehow been the only one capable of reading Jake's scratchy handwriting. As her eyes scanned the paper, they widened and began brimming with teardrops once again. An overwhelming sadness flowed through her, but with it an unwavering resolve. As she creased the paper once more and stuck it in her back pocket, she ran out of Jake's room, his voice ringing in her ears. Now, she had an answer for her mother.

-0-0-0-

"You're gonna do great, hon."

Haley smiled gratefully. "Thanks, Dad." Jonathan patted his daughter on the head, before stepping back to the front of the crowd that had gathered in the cemetery. The afternoon sky was a stormy gray, clouds moving swiftly along above the mourners. An ominous breeze was blowing, as if threatening rain. A fitting mood for a funeral, Haley couldn't help but note.

"You never did tell me what made you change your mind," Susan spoke up, causing Haley to glance at her suddenly.

"No, I didn't," she answered simply. Susan smiled, shaking her head.

"Good luck." She kissed her daughter on the forehead, and strode over to where her husband and father were standing.

Haley stepped up to the podium beside her and looked out at the crowd. Many of their family members were present, all looking pale and sorrowful. Also there were Jake's friends, Spud and Trixie, both of whom had taken the news of his death very hard, especially Trixie, who had refused to believe it at first, convinced that Jake was playing a trick on them. In the end, Spud had been able to calm her down, and both had done everything they could to assist with the funeral arrangements. Standing near them were a number of other classmates of theirs, as well as some teachers from their school. Near the back of the crowd was a sizable group of strange, camouflaged magical creatures, ranging from centaurs to mermaids to leprechauns, some of whom had better disguises than others. It was odd to see so many representatives of both the human and magical worlds gathered in one place, for one purpose. Odd, but at the same time comforting. It filled Haley with a sense of pride in her brother, that he had touched the lives of so many individuals from so many different places. With a small smile, Haley took a deep breath, and addressed them all together.

"At first, I wasn't sure I wanted to speak today," she began honestly, glancing down at the podium, away from the many tearful faces staring up at her. "I'd just lost my only brother. I was upset... I didn't know if I could think or say anything to console myself, let alone an entire crowd. Mom said it was up to me... I should think about it a bit more, you know? So, I promised her I would..." She paused a moment, taking another deep breath before continuing, the masses still paying her their undivided attention. "I was sitting in Jake's room one day, just kind of thinking, when I started going through stuff. I wasn't really looking for anything solid, more like looking for memories. That's when I found this in his desk drawer." She pulled the folded sheet of plain, white paper from a compartment in the podium, where she'd stowed it before the funeral. She noticed her parents exchange glances, probably wondering why she hadn't shown it to them sooner. But it was her secret to keep. That is, until that moment. "It's a letter. Written by Jake five days ago, on the night before his death. The strange thing was that it was addressed to me. So I read it, and it was this, more than anything else, that convinced me to speak here today." She glanced down at her mother, a small smile on her lips. "So I want to read it aloud, to all of you, because I think you all have a right to understand what Jake was thinking before he died. Some of you might not understand everything he's talking about, but I still think this needs to be heard." She carefully unfolded the paper, the wind rustling its corners. Her eyes shot momentarily to her parents once again, both of whom smiled reassuringly. She smiled back at them, before clearing her throat, and reading from the paper in the most level voice she could muster.

"_Haley,_

_Tomorrow morning we go after Ebony. I can't sleep, so I'm writing this letter to try and explain what I'm thinking right now. I'm running out of time, in more ways than one. I need a way to defeat Ebony, but I also need a way to defeat this curse, to stop it before I hurt you guys any more. I know what you're thinking. "We told you, Jake, there's no way you'll ever lose to this and we know it. We trust you." But what if you're wrong? What if all I've been doing is prolonging the inevitable? Maybe there is a chance, but I'm not sure I'm willing to gamble the lives of people I care about on that small a chance. Not to mention there's Ebony to worry about. Last time I fought her, she pretty much destroyed me in about three seconds. Her new power is unbelievable. Sure, I've trained in fighting blindfolded, but how do I know it's enough? How do I know when I meet her tomorrow she won't just torch me with some spell and I won't even see it coming? It could be over just like that. I just don't know anymore. I feel lost, confused, like everything's been shoved on my shoulders and I'm just stumbling under the weight. I just want you to try and understand where I'm coming from with what I'm about to say._

_Someone mentioned to me recently that the power of this curse would probably be enough to outmatch Ebony. That got me thinking. If I'm not powerful enough to beat her on my own, what if I could use the beast inside me? Borrow its power? Beat Ebony once and for all? The only problem with that is: What if I can't get control again? I'd have to let the curse out. I've been able to stop it before, somehow, but it's been getting harder and harder to contain. I'm just afraid that if I give up control, I won't be able to get it back. But right now, it's the only plan I've got. But I still can't stop thinking about something Grandpa told me, about having hope, and how it can keep you alive past your normal limits, allow you to do more than people without it can. And that's why I'll only use the curse as a last resort. If I can't beat her on my own. But if it comes to that, if I have to use it... Well, then suppressing the curse by sheer willpower probably won't be an option anymore, which means there'd likely be only one way to keep it from taking over permanently: If I wasn't there to feed it."_

Haley stopped for a moment, her voice catching in her throat. Reading Jake's final thoughts aloud was much more difficult than she'd imagined. It had become impossible to keep the welling emotion from infiltrating her voice, and her tone kept shaking with sadness. Her emotion seemed to be amplified in the crowd, who were sitting stock-still, so silent you could hear a pin drop. She chanced a glance at her parents, to see tears streaming down her mother's face as she held a hand over her mouth, Jonathan's arm wrapped tight around her. His eyes also were shining. But there was still more to tell, so Haley took another deep, cleansing breath, and continued, this time allowing her voice to be swayed by emotion, to better convey the feelings etched into each word written on the small sheet of paper.

"_So I guess if you have this now, it means I was right. I wasn't strong enough, and I had to go to drastic measures. You probably think I'm an idiot for giving up, for just letting myself die instead of continuing to fight the curse. But that's why I'm writing this letter, to try and explain why I did what I did. Try and put yourself in my place. If you knew there was a chance, a pretty darn good chance, that you wouldn't be able to keep yourself from hurting someone you care about, wouldn't you rather give up your life instead of theirs? I only did it to protect you. You and everyone else. You can be angry, hate me if you want, it doesn't matter anymore. I've made up my mind. I've spent years fighting to protect the people I care about. And if I can die still protecting them, then I haven't failed. This is why I'm writing to you. I figured that out of everyone I knew, you were the most likely to understand where I'm coming from. But also, to tell you that... since you're reading this, and I'm gone, my duties, my responsibilities, fall to you now. You're the only one that can carry on our family's legacy. It's a tough job, giving up everything for the protection of the magical world. But I know you can do it. I believe in you, just know that. It may not sound like much, coming from me, since after everyone basically told me the same thing, I just... now... But this is different, I think. Anyway, just get out there and kick some bad guy tail for me, okay? And if you can, try and talk to the others, especially Mom and Dad. Try to make them understand how I feel, will you? Maybe it'll be different coming from you. Maybe they'll listen to you better than they did me. I don't want to just leave it like this, but I guess I don't have a choice. Sunrise is just a few hours away. It's almost time._

_Ready or not, here goes everything._

_-__-Jake"_

Very slowly, Haley folded the letter back up and slid it under the podium. She looked out at the crowd, tears now falling down her cheeks. As hard as it was reading Jake's final thoughts aloud, it was evidently harder listening to them for the first time, Haley realized upon watching the people. A great number of them were openly sobbing, many offering a shoulder to a sorrowful neighbor. Some, such as their father's side of the family and most of Jake's school friends, had confusion etched in their faces behind the sadness. These were the ones who knew nothing of Jake's secret life as the American Dragon, and all his talk of curses and fights must have been a bit over their heads. Susan had buried her face in her husband's shoulder, as he stared blankly at the ground, teardrops pouring from his wide eyes. Haley took a moment to regain herself, and to let Jake's words sink further into the consciousnesses of the mourners, before raising her voice once more before them.

"When I read this, I decided instantly that I had to give this talk. I had to let everyone know how he felt, what he was thinking." She glanced at the people with confused faces, and the hordes of magical creatures behind them. "Many of you here will never really know how much my brother sacrificed in the past few years, how many lives he saved. But those of you that do, whether you witnessed his acts or were lucky enough to be rescued by him at some point in your lives, you understand that he would never give up unless he knew he would help someone he cared about in doing so. He was a hero, no matter the cost, no matter who knew. After all, he didn't do it for the fame or the recognition. I understand, he did it because it was his destiny. But more than that, he did it... because he wanted to." She looked up at the sky. The clouds were beginning to disperse, and small, dim rays of sunlight were now streaming through the gaps between them. Haley smiled, the warmth of the light filling her with newfound resolve.

"My brother was a great person, and now, now that I've seen how he felt before doing what he did, I'm proud of him. It takes a true hero to give their life in order to keep others from harm, and that's exactly what Jake did. He was, and always will be, a hero, and now, as I take on his former responsibilities and duties as my own, I know that the greatest I can aim for is to one day be like him, who was, until the end, as selfless and noble as a person, or dragon, can be, so that no one, anywhere, will ever forget all that he's done."

Calm sunlight filled the cemetery now, invigorating the large crowd of people gathered there. Smiles began to spread across the group, smiles that shone through tear-streaked faces. No one spoke, but the silence was no longer choking and sorrowful, but calm and peaceful. It wasn't as though the sadness had vanished, rather it was joined with a feeling of hope. Haley's words—Jake's words—still rang through the ears of everyone present, words that would not soon be forgotten.

Haley stepped down from the podium and walked up to her family. Her grandfather stepped forward and nodded to her, an understanding smile on his face. She wrapped her arms around him briefly before moving to her parents, neither of whom spoke, but rather pulled her into a tight embrace, all three crying freely. It was a while before anyone got up to leave. The ominous rainclouds had gone, and everyone seemed content to sit under the blue sky for a little longer, lost in thoughts and memories.

Unbeknownst to the mourners, a lone, female figure stood watching from behind a tree at the edge of the cemetery, just within earshot of Haley's speech. She stood, a hand just touching her quivering mouth, her wide eyes dripping with tears. Her left hand held a strand of her blonde hair over her shoulder, her fingers mindlessly moving it back and forth.

She was silently scolding herself for going back on her promise. A promise to herself, that she wouldn't come to his funeral. But still, she couldn't stay away. She needed to come, to tell him goodbye, goodbye for the last time. Some small part of her was glad she'd come, while another wished she'd stayed away. Another part wanted to rush toward the Long family and hug them and cry with them and hear them tell her it would all be okay. Another part wanted to just quietly back out, so no one would notice her. Another wanted to run away, anywhere, just to escape the sadness welling up inside her. Still another part wanted to scream into the sky at the top of her lungs, to let it all out in one dulcet tone. And every part of her found itself missing him, wishing he would come up behind her, put his hand over her mouth and whisper in her ear, "Shh! C'mon, let's get outta here before they see us!" But as much as she wished to see his face again, hear his voice, feel his touch, she knew it wasn't possible. He was gone, and now, she was alone.

She choked back a sob as she glanced at the empty casket at the front of the gathering. They had no body to bury, but it didn't matter. No one cared. To them, it was still as if he were right there in front of them.

"Goodbye, Jake," Rose whispered softly. She pressed her fingertips to her lips in one final gesture, then touched them softly to the tree beside her, before turning away from the people gathered under the warm sun, the cool shade of the tree's leaves blocking her from their view.

What she faced now was an unknown world, but a world in which she knew she had to find her own path. As she clicked her heels and willed her glider to form beneath her feet, she couldn't help but wonder if she'd ever be back, ever see these people again. _Maybe someday…_ she resolved. _So much has happened these past few weeks… So much I'll always remember, and so much more I wish I could forget. …But I'll be back someday. Someday when I'm ready to face the memories again. Until then, I'll go where the wind takes me, and for once in my life, find my own path. _She glanced back, for what she knew would be the last time. _Jake… You helped me in more ways than you know. …Thank you. For everything._

_Goodbye._

_**THE END**_

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BA BADA BAAAAA! And there you have it. Yes, there will be an epilogue, and I'll try to get that up soon since it's not a real chapter, but for now, the end of the story! Woo-hoo! (And I'll do all my final end-of-story notes after the epilogue, so as not to distract from the ending here.)

As always, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it! Drop me a review, if you feel so inclined (which I realllly hope you do!). See ya soon!

-oMM


	23. Epilogue

Whoa... Two updates in less than 24 hours. Must be like the end of the world... But I actually went ahead and wrote this last night after I posted chapter 22, then I went to bed and was like "I'll post it tomorrow." Well, now it's tomorrow, so here it is, the epilogue! It's real short, but like I said it's not a real chapter, just kind of a finisher. Enjoy!

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_SLAM!_

The sound of the locker door being thrown shut blended into the den of voices and similar crashes in the school hallway between seventh and eighth period.

"Come on, we're gonna be late!" one such voice called from the middle of the condensed hall.

"I'm coming, I'm coming," the girl who'd slammed the locker answered breathlessly as she ran to catch up to her friend, her long, black hair swinging behind her as she weaved through the crowd. "I swear these halls get more crowded every day…"

Her friend laughed. "Yeah, I know the feeling." She paused a second, looking at the other girl, who was glancing down as they headed for their next class. "Hey, you okay?"

The second girl looked up suddenly, as if being shaken from a daydream. "What? Oh, yeah. It's just…" She absently flipped the corners of a notebook she was carrying, her eyes watching her feet. "Today's the two-year anniversary… of…" Her voice trailed off.

Her friend glanced at her, a sympathetic frown spreading across her face as she understood. "Your brother's death?" she finished softly. The other girl looked up and nodded solemnly, before letting her eyes fall back to watch the gentle rhythm of her feet on the tile floor. "Hey," the first girl said, putting an arm around her friend's shoulders. "I won't tell you I know how you feel, because I know that's not what you want to hear… But just know I'm here, okay? If you ever wanna talk, you know."

The second girl looked up, a warm smile on her face. "Thanks."

The other girl grinned. "Now come on, we're late!"

"Psst, Haley!"

The second girl stopped as the last few students sprinted into their classrooms. She turned around to see a stout, gray dog peeking out from around a corner. Turning to her friend, she grinned sheepishly. "I've, uh… gotta go," she said, beginning to walk backward toward where the dog was hiding. "Family emergency! Cover for me, okay?"

"Again?" her friend huffed, hands on her hips. "Haley, I'm running out of excuses, you know. When are you gonna tell me what's up with all these 'family emergencies'?"

Haley grinned. "Maybe someday," she answered, turning and sprinting off as the bell rang and her friend retreated into their classroom. "Fu Dog," she addressed the hound, "what's up?"

"We've got a situation, kid," he whispered back. "Follow me."

-0-0-0-

"So all I have to do is stop that ogre from trampling the fairies' village?"

"Yep," Fu Dog answered as the two of them sat crouched in a bush near the aforementioned village (which was about waist-high and spanned roughly twenty feet in diameter). "Normally I'd say don't just go jumping in there, think of a strategy, but this time it looks like either will do fine. Ogres aren't the brightest of creatures, but they're tough as nails, so watch your back."

"Right," Haley replied, jumping to her feet. "Dragon up!" she shouted, as glowing flames engulfed her, revealing her true form, that of a slim, pink-scaled dragon. She leapt into the air and swept toward the lone ogre, which, contrary to the miniature town, was about thirty feet tall and as wide as a Buick. "Hey!" she called to it. It turned around slowly, its leg freezing in mid-air, a whimpering fairy cowering underneath it. "Don't you have anything better to do than torment this poor little village?" She sniffed at the air and immediately her nose was filled with noxious fumes she was sure were emanating from the great brute before her. "Ugh… Like a shower maybe?"

The ogre shouted something unintelligible in reply. "Wow, ugly, smelly, _and_ stupid." Haley taunted. "How your kind attracts mates, I'll never know. You should've gone extinct a long time ago." As the ogre stomped around angrily and grunted obscenities, Haley froze for a second. She smiled to herself. She couldn't help but think, _That sounds like something Jake would say…_ But rather than sadden her, this thought made her laugh and smile. Sure she missed him, especially that day, the two-year anniversary of his death. But more than that, all she'd wanted since then was to be like him, and unbeknownst to her, she'd been growing more and more like her brother every day. It made her think of something he'd once said to her. Well, wrote to her: '_Get out there and kick some bad guy tail for me, okay?'_

Haley grinned, glancing over at the ogre, who was now staring her down, challenging her. A challenge she was happy to accept.

_Don't worry, Jake… I will._

**-  
~0~0~0~  
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So there it is. Wow... It feels so weird that this is actually over now... So as an end note I wanna say thanks to all my readers. You really helped make this story better than I thought it would be back when I started it in like 2006 (heh). Over 40 reviews, over 7,500 hits, 11 alerts, and 17 favorites. To me, that's awesome. I had a ton of fun writing this, and it's good to know that a lot of people enjoyed reading it as well. I'm really sad to see this story go, but it's also kind of relieving to have it all finished. Either way, thanks again for reading!

Farewell, happy trails, the force be with you, may your swords stay sharp, yadda yadda.

See ya next time, kiddies!

-oMM


	24. Author's Note - SEQUEL

Guess what, gang? I'M BAAAAAACK! Bet you weren't expecting this random update from me four years after the end of this story, huh?

So since I finished this, a lot of people have asked me if I was going to write a sequel. And originally, my answer was no. I was happy with the ending and I didn't think I needed to continue it. But this story has been getting a lot of attention lately (which I found sort of odd, since it's been almost a full four years since I finished it), and it actually got me thinking about writing a sequel.

SO GUESS WHAT? I DID!

That's right, I spent the last two months working my tail off to author a sequel to Dragon Blood, and now I'm proud to say it's finished! I just posted the prologue, and I'll be throwing the rest of the chapters up maybe once a week or so over the coming summer.

So to all of you hopeful souls who asked me for a sequel – CONGRATULATIONS! You've convinced me! As a reward, jump on over to my profile page and check out "Dragon Fire." I really like it and I had a ton of fun writing it, and I hope you won't be disappointed!

Thanks for the continued support, and I hope to see you all again soon!

-oMM


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